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A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a large art piece of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of damaging property.

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video captured a individual placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to media sources, with the judge recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.

The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without harming the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

The mayor said the local government would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.

At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.

Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.