Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of property damage.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video captured a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in December.
A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the stickers could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
The mayor said the local government would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the artwork was initially suggested, it drew 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 sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
