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A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with one count of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said 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 court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to find a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.

A day after the alleged incident, the city leader stated that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be detached without damaging the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - 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 accountable for the vandalism.

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

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