Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council said that CCTV footage captured a individual putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused did not enter a plea and told the court she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without harming the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
She added the council would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
