Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Man eats £4.9m banana artwork

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A cryptocurrency entrepreneur has kept his promise and eaten a banana he bought for $6.2m (£4.9m).

Justin Sun snapped up viral art piece Comedian – consisting of a single banana duct-taped to a white wall – in an auction at Sotheby’s in New York last week.

The Chinese-born businessman immediately revealed his plan to destroy the artwork by enjoying the fruit as a snack and at a news conference today, he delivered on his word.

At a Hong Kong hotel, the 34-year-old took a bite and told reporters: “It’s much better than other bananas. It’s really quite good.”

After purchasing Comedian, Mr Sun previously said the piece “represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community”.

“Additionally, in the coming days, I will personally eat the banana as part of this unique artistic experience, honouring its place in both art history and popular culture,” he vowed.

Image:
Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian debuted at an art festival in 2019. Pic: AP

The piece, by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, became an online phenomenon when it debuted at Art Basel in Miami Beach in 2019, and sparked debate over whether it was a joke or commentary on the art world.

Comedian was first made with a banana that cost just 25 US cents (20p) and it’s not the first time the artwork has been eaten.

A performance artist took the banana from the wall and ate it back in 2019, and a south Korean student did the same last May.

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Mr Sun can technically replace the fruit again, as his $6.2m purchase grants him a certificate of authenticity and the authority to duct-tape any banana to a wall and call it Comedian.

The entrepreneur founded cryptocurrency TRON and recently invested $30m into president-elect Donald Trump’s crypto project.

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