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A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of property damage.

In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video captured a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and told the court she was unwell, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date 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 expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

The mayor added the local government would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.

When the sculpture was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.