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A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large art piece of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of damaging property.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

The following day the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the popular 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 community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

The mayor said the local government would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.

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

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.