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

The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with one count of damaging property.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a person placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

A day after the alleged incident, the city leader 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 intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

She said the council would seek the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.

At the time the artwork was first proposed, it received 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 artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.