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

A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video captured a person putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused did not enter a plea and told the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

A day after the alleged incident, the city leader stated that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

The mayor added the council would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.

Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.