Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
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 plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, charged with one count of damaging property.
In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the court she was ill, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the city leader said that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
She added the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
