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A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with one count of damaging property.

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council said that CCTV footage captured a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the magistrate advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.

The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She added the council would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.

At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.