Australian Teen Faces Charges for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture

A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of damaging property.

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage captured a person placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

A day after the reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She added the council would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.

When the artwork was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.