Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A young person from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a large art piece of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of damaging property.
In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a individual putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused did not enter a plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.
The following day the alleged incident, the city leader stated that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor added the council would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
