Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture

A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video captured a person putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

A day after the reported event, the city leader said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the stickers could not be removed without damaging the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is unacceptable 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 community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

The mayor said the local government would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.

When the artwork was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and design.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.