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A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a large art piece of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

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

Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video captured a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the court she was ill, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December.

A day after the reported event, the local mayor stated that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

She said the council would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.

At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and design.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.