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

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with one count of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video captured a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the court she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.

A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

She added the council would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.

At the time the artwork was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.

Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.