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A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a large art piece of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the judge she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

A day after the reported event, the city leader stated that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

She added the council would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.

When the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.