🔗 Share this article

A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a large art piece of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage captured a individual putting fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

A day after the reported event, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without damaging the sculpture.

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

She said the local government would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.

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

Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.