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A young person from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by applying googly 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, facing with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage showed a person placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused made no plea and informed the court she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.

The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor said that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without damaging the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

The mayor added the local government would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.

When the sculpture was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.

Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.