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A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of damaging property.

In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused did not enter a plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December.

A day after the reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers could not be detached without harming the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

The mayor added the local government would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.

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

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.