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A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a person placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.

The following day the alleged incident, the city leader said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be removed without damaging the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

The mayor added the council would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.