Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork

Damaged sculpture with eyes attached — Authorities mentioned they were unable to take off the eyes without harming the artwork.

A young person from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a person placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, according to media sources, with the magistrate advising her to find a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.

Art piece after eye removal — The affected sculpture following the stickers were taken off.

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

“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

She added the council would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it received varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and design.

Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.