🔗 Share this article Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture The local council stated they could not remove the eyes without harming the artwork. A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it. Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of damaging property. In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”. The accused did not enter a plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year. The damaged sculpture after the stickers were taken off. The following day the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be removed without harming the art piece. “This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork 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 members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.” The mayor added the council would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism. At the time the artwork was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and appearance. Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”. The sculpture is its formal title but locals called the piece the ‘Blue Blob’.