A 20-year-old woman in South Australia was convicted of a graffiti offence after attaching googly eyes to a public sculpture.
Amelia Vanderhorst pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a charge of “marking graffiti” by putting the eyes on Cast in Blue, a sculpture worth A$136,000 (£70,721) in the centre of Mount Gambier, the ABC reported.
The artwork, unveiled in July 2025, depicts a mythical megafauna inspired by ancient marsupials found in the region’s caves, with its bright blue colour referencing the nearby Blue Lake. A part of Mount Gambier’s Beacon Art Project, it’s intended to create a distinctive cultural landmark in the city’s centre.
The sculpture has divided local opinion since its installation, with some criticising it as unattractive and a “waste of money.” It’s popularly known as the “Blue Blob”.
Magistrate Kylie Schulz directed Vanderhorst to pay A$2,000 (£1,040) in compensation to the city council and complete 60 hours of community service. “Your actions mocked the sculpture and the artist,” the magistrate told Vanderhorst.
The incident took place in September 2025 when Vanderhorst filmed herself attaching the eyes to the sculpture.
She knew she had “no lawful authority to do so”, police told the court, and had either been “intending to damage property” or been “recklessly indifferent” as to whether her actions would cause damage.
Instead of applying for legal aid, Ms Vanderhost started a crowdfunding campaign last November to pay for legal representation. According to ABC, she admitted on the now-deleted campaign page to being “the one who put the eyes on the blue blob”.
“I don’t have the funds for a lawyer as I am only young and jobless. I did not mean for the eyes on the blue blob to harm or offend anything or anyone at all so please help me,” she wrote.
She raised A$1,894 (£984) but later returned the money.
Vanderhorst’s defence lawyer Michael Hill told the court on Tuesday that she had consumed nearly three litres of vodka on the night of the incident and been under the influence of drugs as well.
Mr Hill said she had acted in an attempt to make the sculpture “look funny” after seeing similar acts elsewhere and that she had since expressed remorse, describing her actions as “one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done”.
He told the BBC in a statement that Ms Vanderhost had since “taken meaningful steps to address the issues that contributed to her offending, including reducing her substance use and focusing on stabilising her personal circumstances”.
“She is committed to making better decisions moving forward.”
The city council spent A$3,000 (1,560) repairing the sculpture, police said. Council representatives claimed the adhesive used to attach the eyes couldn’t be removed without damaging the surface of the artwork.
At the time of the incident, city mayor Lynette Martin had called it “inappropriate and disrespectful”, adding that “people don’t have to like it, but they don’t have to be creating wilful damage in this way”.
“It is not harmless fun,” she said. “It is costly.”
Cast in Blue had faced a separate vandalism attack two weeks after it was unveiled. At the time, the council had said it respected the “range of views about the sculpture” but asked that “people respect that this is a community asset”.
The Independent has contacted the Mount Gambier city council for comment.
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