The incident happened last September in the city of Mount Gambier, which is located in the state of South Australia. Vanderhorstová was under the influence of the drug MDMA, known as ecstasy, and also about three liters of vodka. She was originally charged with damaging property, but after negotiations with the prosecution, the charge was changed to vandalism, said her lawyer, Michael Hill.
“Since the incident, Vanderhorst has taken meaningful steps to address the issues that contributed to her offending, including reducing her substance use and focusing on strengthening her personal situation. She is committed to making better decisions in the future,” the lawyer said.
The mayor of the city, Lynette Martinová, said that the glued eyes are an intentional damage to a valuable piece of public art. According to her, repairing the statue will be expensive because the stickers cannot be removed without damaging the work. The city council has already spent almost 3,000 dollars (44,000 crowns) on the repair, the ABC website added.
The statue called Cast in Blue has been standing in Mount Gambier since last July and is nicknamed the Blue Blob by locals. The artwork for 136 thousand Australian dollars (today 1.9 million CZK) represents a mythical megafauna, specifically an ancient marsupial anteater, whose fossils were found in local caves. At the time, the work caused mixed reactions due to the price and design.
