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

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, charged 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 individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused made no plea and told the court she was ill, according to media sources, with the magistrate advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

A day after the reported event, the city leader said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without damaging the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

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

At the time the artwork was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.