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A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, charged with one count of property damage.

Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.

The following day the alleged incident, 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 art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

She added the council would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.

At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its cost and appearance.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.