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A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with one count of property damage.

In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video captured a person placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

The mayor said the council would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.

Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.