🔗 Share this article

A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council said that surveillance video showed a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.

A day after the alleged incident, the city leader said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without harming the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

The mayor said the council would seek the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.

At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and appearance.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.