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

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage showed a individual placing 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 unwell, as reported by media sources, with the judge advising her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

A day after the alleged incident, the city leader said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

The mayor added the council would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.

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

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.