Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of property damage.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council said that CCTV footage captured a person placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused did not enter a plea and told the judge she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
A day after the reported event, the city leader stated that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the stickers could not be removed without damaging the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
She added the local government would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses 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 price tag and appearance.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
