Australian Teen Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture

A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council said that CCTV footage captured a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.

The following day the reported event, the local mayor stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate 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 the Blue Blob.”

The mayor said the council would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable 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 appearance.

Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.