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A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared remotely at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a individual putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December.

The following day the alleged incident, the city leader said that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without harming 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 pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

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

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

Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.