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A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of damaging property.

Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council said that CCTV footage showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the court she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December.

The following day the reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

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

When the artwork was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.