Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.
Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without damaging the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor said the council would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and design.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
