Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork

Damaged sculpture with eyes attached — The local council stated they could not remove the eyes without harming the artwork.

A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with one count of property damage.

In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the local council said that surveillance video captured a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

Art piece after eye removal — The damaged sculpture after the stickers were removed.

The following day the alleged incident, the city leader stated that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.

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

The mayor said the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its cost and design.

Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.