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A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video captured a person placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

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

At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the local community due to its cost and design.

Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.