🔗 Share this article

A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture 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 Tuesday, facing with one count of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused did not enter a plea and told the judge she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the judge recommending her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December.

The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without damaging the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

The mayor said the council would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.

When the sculpture was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.