A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a large art piece of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, facing with one count of property damage.
In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage captured a individual placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to find a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.
The following day the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be detached without damaging the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
The mayor said the local government would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and design.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
