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A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the local council said that surveillance video showed a person putting fake 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 unwell, according to media sources, with the judge recommending her to secure a lawyer 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 costly as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without harming the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

The mayor said the local government would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.

When the artwork was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.