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A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large art piece of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council said that CCTV footage captured a person placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused made no plea and told the court she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

A day after the alleged incident, the city leader said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

She added the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.

At the time the artwork was first proposed, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design.

Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.