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A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly 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 the state of South Australia on that day, charged with one count of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video captured a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the judge advising her to find a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.

A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without damaging the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She added the local government would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.