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A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

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

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December.

A day after the reported event, the local mayor stated that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

She said the council would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.

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

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.