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A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video showed a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the court she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor said that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without harming the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

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

When the artwork was initially suggested, 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 inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.