Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council said that CCTV footage showed a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She said the council would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.
When the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
