Hong Kong: In a moment that can only be described as ‘art meets crypto’, Justin Sun, the crypto mogul behind the Tron blockchain, made good on his promise and took a bite out of a $6.2 million banana duct-taped to a wall.
At a press event in one of Hong Kong’s most luxurious hotels, Sun chomped down on the fruit, which was the centerpiece of Maurizio Cattelan’s infamous conceptual artwork “Comedian.” The artwork, sold at a Sotheby’s auction just days earlier, features a banana duct-taped to a wall and has become one of the most talked-about art pieces in recent years — and now, thanks to Sun, it’s also one of the most ‘eaten’.
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Standing in front of a crowd of journalists and influencers, Sun called the work “iconic” before diving into the fruit with a bite, declaring, “It’s much better than other bananas!”
He followed it up with a satisfied “It’s really quite good.”
For those wondering why anyone would pay millions for a banana taped to a wall, Sun has his reasons. He compared “Comedian” to NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and blockchain tech, both of which exist more in the digital space than in the physical world.
“Most of its objects and ideas exist as intellectual property and on the internet, as opposed to something physical,” Sun said, drawing an unexpected but intriguing parallel between conceptual art and cryptocurrency.
Sun admitted that when he first won the bid at a Sotheby’s auction in New York, he felt a bit of “disbelief” for the first 10 seconds. But soon enough, he realised this could be something “big” — so big, in fact, that he decided eating the banana at the press conference could be a part of the art itself.
After all, this is the same artwork that sparked controversy when it debuted at Art Basel in 2019, with critics questioning whether a banana really qualified as “art.” Guess what? Now, it’s an edible masterpiece.
Sun, who has a knack for turning attention (and his wallet) toward the unorthodox, said he only recently decided to bid for the artwork and admitted to having a few “dumb questions,” like whether the banana had decayed.
Spoiler alert: it hadn’t. But if it had, Sun was ready. As the owner, he received a certificate of authenticity from Cattelan himself, along with instructions on how to replace the banana once it turns brown.
The crypto king seemed optimistic that the price of his unconventional piece could rise just like his favorite cryptocurrency.
“I think it’s probably going to go up even more in the future, just like Bitcoin,” he mused.
(Agency inputs)
