🔗 Share this article Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork Authorities mentioned they could not take off the eyes without harming the artwork. A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a large art piece of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it. Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of damaging property. In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”. The accused made no plea and informed the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year. The affected sculpture after the googly eyes were taken off. A day after the reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular public artwork would be costly as the stickers could not be detached without harming the sculpture. “This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.” The mayor said the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the damage. At the time the artwork was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its cost and appearance. Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”. Cast in Blue is its formal title but residents nicknamed the artwork the ‘Blue Blob’.