In a bold move that captured the attention of the art and crypto worlds, crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun ate the banana from the controversial artwork he had purchased for $6.2 million.
At a press event held at one of Hong Kong’s most luxurious hotels, Sun took a bite of the banana after giving a speech praising the artwork as “iconic.” He also drew comparisons between conceptual art and cryptocurrency, underscoring the similarities between both worlds.
“It’s much better than other bananas,” Sun remarked after his first bite. “It’s really quite good.”
The artwork, titled “Comedian,” was created by renowned Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York. Sun was among the seven bidders who competed for the piece, which features a banana duct-taped to a wall.
Sun recounted his reaction when he first won the auction, expressing “disbelief” in the initial moments, but then realizing the potential of the artwork to make waves. “This could become something big,” he said. Soon after, Sun made the decision to eat the banana as part of the piece’s ongoing narrative.
“Eating it at a press conference can also become a part of the artwork’s history,” he added.
The artwork first made headlines at the 2019 Art Basel in Miami Beach, where its unconventional nature sparked debates about the definition of art. Cattelan, the artist, had said that his goal was to challenge the traditional understanding of art.
On Friday, Sun connected this conceptual artwork with the world of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and decentralized blockchain technology, drawing a parallel between intangible digital art and the physical object of “Comedian.”
“Most of its objects and ideas exist as intellectual property and on the internet, rather than as something physical,” Sun explained.
