Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared remotely at the local court in South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and informed the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
The following day the reported event, the local mayor stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers could not be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She said the local government would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.
At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.
Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
