🔗 Share this article Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture The local council mentioned they were unable to remove the eyes without damaging the artwork. A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it. Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of property damage. Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video captured a person placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”. The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December. The affected sculpture following the googly eyes were taken off. A day after the alleged incident, the city leader said that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without harming the sculpture. “This wilful damage to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.” She said the local government would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism. At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and appearance. Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”. Cast in Blue is its official name but locals called the artwork the ‘Blue Blob’.