Australian Teen Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the judge advising her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the city leader stated that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be removed without damaging the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She added the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
