Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large art piece of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the court she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December.
The following day the alleged incident, the city leader said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without damaging the art piece.
“This wilful damage 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 costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor added the local government would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.
Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
