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

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, facing with one count of property damage.

In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage showed a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed 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 judge advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December.

The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

She said the local government would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.

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

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.