Woman caught vandalising iconic sculpture worth £68,000 with googly eyes

A woman was accused of ‘reckless indifference’ after defacing an iconic Australian piece of art with googly looking eyes.

Amelia Vanderhorst placed the large plastic stickers on the Cast in Blue sculpture in the city of Mount Gambier, according to local news reports.

The 19-year-old was caught on CCTV defacing the artwork, which the city now faces an estimated A$2,500 to repair, after removing the eyes caused damage to the paintwork.

Mayor Lynette Martin said in September the stickers were not ‘harmless fun’ but ‘wilful damage’ and added the council would pursue costs from those responsible.

She said: ‘I think it’s inappropriate and disrespectful and there’s many members of our community who’ve embraced Cast in Blue.

‘Rectifying the damage will result in significant repair expenses.’

Ms Vanderhorst told a court she was ill and did not enter a plea. She was accused of being ‘recklessly indifferent’ to the damage she had caused and was advised to get herself legal representation in time for her next hearing in December.

Appearing at Mount Gambier Magistrates court by phone on Tuesday, she told the court she was also ‘really high on pain meds’.

Known locally as ‘Blue Bob’, the piece was designed as a mythical version of the unique megafauna and inspired by an ancient marsupial found in caves in south east Australia.

The colour is supposed to represent the city’s iconic ‘blue lake’.

The sculpture initially attracted a mixed reception for its unusual design andA$136,000 price tag, against a backdrop of increased council rates.

It was vandalised just two weeks after it was erected in July, when chunks of paint were cut of it.

However no charges were pursued for that incident, despite police reviewing CCTV footage.

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