Australian Teen Charged for Allegedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork

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

The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of damaging property.

Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused did not enter a plea and informed the court she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge recommending her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.

A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers could not be detached without harming the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

She added the council would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it received varied responses from the local community due to its cost and appearance.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.