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A young person 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.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, charged with one count of damaging property.

In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a individual putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused made no plea and informed the court she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December.

A day after the reported event, the city leader stated that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

The mayor said the local government would seek the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.

At the time the artwork was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and design.

Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.