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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 affixing googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video showed a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the court she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in December.

The following day the reported event, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the stickers could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

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

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

Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.