Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun has stirred up headlines on Friday by making an unconventional move after acquiring a controversial artwork for $6.2 million — he ate the banana taped to the wall.
During a press event at a luxury Hong Kong hotel, Sun took a bite of the banana in front of journalists and influencers.
His action followed a speech in which he lauded the artwork, Comedian by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, as “iconic” and likened it to cryptocurrency.
“It’s much better than other bananas,” Sun quipped, adding after a bite, “It’s really quite good.”
The artwork, which features a single banana duct-taped to a wall, was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York last week. Sun was one of seven bidders.
Reflecting on his purchase, he admitted to feeling “disbelief” when he realized he had won. He saw the piece as an opportunity to spark a broader cultural conversation.
In a bold move, Sun chose to incorporate his act of eating the banana into the narrative of the artwork.
“Eating it at a press conference can also become a part of the artwork’s story,” he explained.
This isn’t the first time the banana artwork has sparked debate.
Since its debut at the 2019 Art Basel in Miami Beach, Comedian has challenged conventional notions of art, drawing both crit!cism and intrigue.
Cattelan himself designed the piece to provoke conversations about the value and definition of art.
Sun also connected the artwork to the world of NFTs and blockchain technology, emphasizing that much of its value lies in intellectual and virtual realms rather than its physical form.
“This is much like NFTs,” he remarked, highlighting parallels between the controversial artwork and the crypto world.
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