🔗 Share this article

A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a large art piece of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a individual putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and told the court she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.

A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

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

When the artwork was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and design.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.