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A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the local council said that CCTV footage captured a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

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

The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without damaging the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked 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.”

The mayor added the council would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.

When the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and design.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.