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A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared via phone at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of property damage.

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a person placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

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

The following day the reported event, the city leader said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She added the local government would seek the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.