Australian Teen Charged for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a large art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of property damage.
In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.
A day after the alleged incident, the city leader said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without damaging the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She added the local government would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.
At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
