Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a large art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.
In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video captured a individual placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in December.
The following day the alleged incident, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without harming the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
The mayor said the council would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.
When the artwork was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and design.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
