China-born cryptocurrency founder Justin Sun, who spent $6.2 million (Rs 52.4 crore) on buying a banana duct-taped artwork on a wall, has eaten the fruit. Standing in front of journalists and influencers at a luxury hotel in Hong Kong on Friday (Nov 29), Mr Sun ate an expensive banana after giving a speech and describing an artwork by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan as “iconic”. He also drew parallels between art and cryptocurrency while describing the taste of fruit.
“It’s much better than other bananas. It’s actually quite good,” Mr Sun said after eating the banana. Notably, each attendee at Friday’s event was given a banana and a roll of duct tape as souvenirs.
Mr Sun competed against six others but emerged victorious in the auction, which was held at Sotheby’s auction house in New York. The banana has been eaten twice before, first by a performance artist in 2019 and then by a South Korean student in 2023. However, none of them ate any of the money, let alone $6.2 million.
Read More Do you need to get more than 100% off? pic.twitter.com/ddo8pEjatx
– That Justin Sun? (@justinsuntron) 29 November 2024
Notably, shortly after winning the auction last week, Mr Sun announced his plans to eat the fruit to make it part of the artwork’s history.
“In the coming days, I will personally eat a banana as part of this unique artistic experience, while respecting its place in both art history and popular culture,” he said at the time.
“It’s not just an artwork. It represents a cultural phenomenon that connects the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community,” he said.
comedian – a satirical art
Titled “Comedian”, Banana’s artwork is a satirical conceptual piece, which was first exhibited at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019. It offers a commentary on how ridiculous the art world is where the meaning of a work is tied to the money it attracts.
Read this also “Comedian”, a banana stuck on the wall, sold for $6.2 million in New York
seller in shock
While Mr. Sun gulped down millions of dollars in a matter of seconds, a seller selling bananas for auction expressed his disappointment at not getting any huge sum from the viral event. According to a report new York TimesThis banana was sold to the artist by 74-year-old fruit seller Shah Alam. Mr. Alam, who works outside Sotheby’s on the Upper East Side, said he had no idea that a piece of fruit he had sold for just 35 cents would fetch such a huge sum.
Although the banana art was satirical in nature, Mr. Alam is unable to understand how someone bought it at such a high price.
“Those who bought it, what kind of people are they? Don’t they know what a banana is?” He asked question.
