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A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a large art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of damaging property.

In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage showed a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate advising her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.

A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - 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 vandalism.

When the sculpture was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the local community due to its cost and appearance.

Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.