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A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of property damage.

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

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

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

“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

The mayor added the council would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.

At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design.

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