Australian Teen Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a large art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with one count of damaging property.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video showed a individual putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused made no plea and told the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without damaging the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
The mayor said the local government would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.
At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
