A cryptocurrency entrepreneur who bought a piece of conceptual art consisting of a simple banana, duct-taped to a wall, for 6.2 million dollars (£4.9 million) last week has eaten the fruit in Hong Kong.
Chinese-born Justin Sun peeled off the duct tape and enjoyed the banana at a press conference held in The Peninsula Hong Kong, one of the city’s most expensive hotels, in the popular shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui.
“It tastes much better than other bananas. Indeed, quite good,” he said.
Comedian, by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, was a phenomenon when it debuted in 2019 at Art Basel Miami Beach, as festival-goers tried to make out whether the single yellow piece of fruit affixed to a white wall with silver duct tape was a joke or a cheeky commentary on questionable standards among art collectors.
At one point, another artist took the banana off the wall and ate it.
The piece attracted so much attention that it had to be withdrawn from view. But three editions sold for between $120,000 and $150,000, according to the gallery handling sales at the time.
Last week, Mr Sun, founder of cryptocurrency platform Tron, made the winning bid at the Sotheby’s auction in New York.
Or, more accurately, Mr Sun purchased a certificate of authenticity that gives him the authority to duct-tape a banana to a wall and call it Comedian.
At the time, Mr Sun said in a statement that the piece “represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community”.
“I will personally eat the banana as part of this unique artistic experience, honouring its place in both art history and popular culture,” he said.
The South China Morning Post reported the banana he ate on Friday was bought in Hong Kong.
Mr Sun on Tuesday announced on X he had invested 30 million dollars in World Liberty Financial, which was launched by US President-elect Donald Trump in September as his family’s cryptocurrency venture.
Mr Sun said in the post that his platform is “committed to making America great again and leading innovation”.
Following his investment in Mr Trump’s venture, he became an adviser of World Liberty Financial.
Last year, Mr Sun was charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission with fraud and other securities law violations. In response, he said on X the complaint “lacks merit”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel