🔗 Share this article Australian Teen Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork The local council stated they could not remove the eyes without harming the artwork. A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it. Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared via phone at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of property damage. In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video captured a person placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”. The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year. The affected sculpture following the stickers were taken off. A day after the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture. “This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.” The mayor added the council would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage. At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and design. Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”. The sculpture is its formal title but locals called the piece the ‘Blue Blob’.