Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a large art piece of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a person putting fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and informed the court she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.
The following day the reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She added the council would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and design.
Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
