🔗 Share this article Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture The local council mentioned they could not take off the eyes without damaging the artwork. A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it. Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of property damage. In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video captured a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed 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 lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December. The affected sculpture following the googly eyes were removed. The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without damaging the art piece. “This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.” The mayor said the council would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage. When the artwork was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and design. Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”. The sculpture is its formal title but residents called the piece the ‘Blue Blob’.