Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared remotely at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
A day after the alleged incident, the city leader stated that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the stickers could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
The mayor added the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and appearance.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
