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A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a large art piece of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.

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

Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a person putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused made no plea and told the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in December.

The following day the reported event, the local mayor stated that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without damaging the art piece.

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

She said the council would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.

When the artwork was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design.

Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.