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A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of damaging property.

Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video captured a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

A day after the reported event, the local mayor stated that restoration to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

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

At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.