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

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

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council said that surveillance video showed a person placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

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

A day after the alleged incident, the city leader said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive 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 said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

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

When the sculpture was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.

Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.