Australian Teen Charged for Allegedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a person placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the court she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge recommending her to secure 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 restoration to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers could not be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor added the council would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the local community due to its cost and design.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
