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A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with one count of property damage.

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the judge recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.

A day after the reported event, the city leader stated that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without damaging the art piece.

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

The mayor added the council would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.

At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.