🔗 Share this article Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork Authorities mentioned they could not remove the eyes without harming the artwork. A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it. Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property. In a statement at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video captured a person placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”. Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December. The damaged sculpture after the googly eyes were removed. A day after the alleged incident, the city leader said that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture. “This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.” She said the council would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism. At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design. Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”. Cast in Blue is its formal title but residents nicknamed the piece the ‘Blue Blob’.