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A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of 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 said that CCTV footage captured a individual placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.

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

“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She added the council would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.

At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.

Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.