The man who bought one of the world’s most unique pieces of art for millions of dollars has revealed what he has done with the fruit.
Branded as one of the boldest moves in modern art, Maurizio Cattelan’s ‘Comedian’ sold for a staggering $6.24 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York City last week.
This simple yet interesting piece initially debuted at Art Basel Miami Beach in December 2019 and quickly became one of the world’s most viral pieces of work.
If you’ve never seen it before, the artwork consists of a banana taped to a wall with a strip of silver duct tape, placed precisely 160 centimeters from the floor and that’s all it took for it to become “the most talked-about artwork of the century.”
Maurizio Cattelan’s ‘Comedian.’ Credit: John Nacion/Getty
Now the piece belongs to crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, who purchased it at the Sotheby’s auction.
However, within a week of claiming it as his own, he’s well and truly decided what he wanted to do with it – and let’s just say, a lot of people won’t be happy about this one.
In a room filled with media personnel at a hotel in Hong Kong, the 34-year-old TRON cryptocurrency founder praised Cattelan, describing the banana as “iconic.”
The piece of art was sold for 6.24 million dollars. Credit: John Nacion/Getty
However, moments later, he decided to pull the banana from the wall and eat it.
“It’s much better than other bananas,” Sun said. “It’s really quite good.”
Taking to X, the businessman reposted a clip of him committing the act alongside a caption that read: “Many friends have asked me about the taste of the banana. To be honest, for a banana with such a back story, the taste is naturally different from an ordinary one.
“I could discern a hint of what Big Mike bananas from 100 years ago might have tasted like,” he added.
According to the Independent, the banana was sold to Cattelan for 35 cents from a vendor outside the Sotheby’s auction house, which naturally left the vendor, Shah Alam, in shock when he heard about the news.
Sun wanted to give back to the vendor stating that he would buy 100,000 more bananas from Alam, or at least $25,000 worth of produce, as per a series of tweets posted to X on November 28.
“As the owner of a fruit stand in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Mr. Shah Alam inadvertently became a crucial contributor to a groundbreaking piece of art. This banana, far from being an ordinary piece of fruit, has taken on profound cultural and artistic significance,” he wrote on the social media platform.
“To thank Mr. Shah Alam, I’ve decided to buy 100,000 bananas from his stand in New York’s Upper East Side. These bananas will be distributed free worldwide through his stand. Show a valid ID to claim one banana, while supplies last,” Sun continued.
“This is not just a unique event but also a celebration of the beautiful connection between everyday life and art. I hope this gesture will help share the meaning of this special art story with more people,” he added.
