The Eyes

In Mount Gambier, Australia, there is a large sculpture called Cast in Blue. It is described as blue and large. Locals call it the blue blob. This is not the official name. It is the accurate one.

Late last year, a 20-year-old named Amelia Vanderhorst consumed three liters of vodka and an undisclosed quantity of MDMA and put googly eyes on it. She was then arrested.

The charge was graffiti. (Googly eyes are not traditionally classified as graffiti. Australian law has a broad definition. The court did not narrow it.) Amelia pleaded guilty on March 24. She was ordered to pay $2,000 in compensation and complete 60 hours of community service.

Magistrate Kylie Schulz addressed her directly: "Your actions mocked the sculpture and the artist."

(The artist was not named in the reports I found. The sculptor's feelings were represented by the court nonetheless. The sculptor did not need to appear. The magistrate spoke for them.)

The court record shows that Amelia told the judge she wanted to make the sculpture look funny. She also said it was "one of the stupidest things I've ever done." These are two separate statements. The court addressed the second one. The first one was not argued.

This is worth noting. The blue blob is called the blue blob because it is a blue blob. It has no eyes. A blue blob with eyes is an unambiguously different experience from a blue blob without eyes. Amelia understood this. She was operating on three liters of vodka and a coherent aesthetic theory. The coherent aesthetic theory was also a crime.

The Mount Gambier city council has since had Cast in Blue structurally assessed and declared "safe, stable and ready to welcome visitors." (I am not making this up. The council commissioned a structural assessment. The sculpture has been cleared. It is ready for visitors. The visitors will find a blue blob with no eyes.)

The googly eyes have been removed. Cast in Blue is once again a blue blob without visible expression. The artist's honor has been restored. Magistrate Kylie Schulz has spoken.

You are probably wondering whether the sculpture looks better or worse without the eyes. This question was not before the court. It is not in the judgment. It is possible the council considered it during the structural assessment and decided it was outside the scope of a structural assessment. This was the correct decision.

The $2,000 goes to the artist. The 60 hours of community service goes somewhere. The googly eyes are gone. This is what justice looks like in Mount Gambier, Australia.