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A young person from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of damaging property.

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage showed a individual putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused did not enter a plea and told the judge she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

A day after the reported event, the local mayor stated that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive 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 September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She added the council would seek the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.

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

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.