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A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage captured a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the magistrate advising her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

The following day the alleged incident, the city leader said that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She said the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.

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

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.