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A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video captured a person placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without damaging 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 innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

She said the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and design.

Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.