Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a large art piece of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of damaging property.
In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a individual putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without damaging the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
She added the council would seek the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.
At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
