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A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of damaging property.

In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the local council said that surveillance video showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was ill, as reported by media sources, 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 repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without damaging the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

The mayor said the council would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.

When the sculpture was first proposed, it received varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and design.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.