Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture

A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by affixing googly 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 a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no 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 next court date in the final month of the year.

The following day the reported event, the city leader stated that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without damaging the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

She added the local government would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.

When the sculpture was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.