Australian Teen Charged for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated remotely at the local court in South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the local council said that CCTV footage showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor said that restoration to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be detached without damaging the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor said the local government would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.
At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.