Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork

Damaged sculpture with eyes attached
Authorities mentioned they could not remove the eyes without damaging the artwork.

A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared via phone at the local 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 said that CCTV footage showed a individual placing fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.

Art piece after eye removal
The damaged sculpture following the googly eyes were taken off.

The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without damaging the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

She added the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.

At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and design.

Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.

Official name vs. local name
Cast in Blue is its official name but residents called the artwork the ‘Blue Blob’.
Theodore Tate
Theodore Tate

Elara Vance is a seasoned luxury goods analyst with over a decade of experience evaluating high-end products and lifestyle trends across Europe.