In a luxury hotel in Hong Kong, Justin Sun, Chinese-American entrepreneur and founder of the cryptocurrency platform Tron, wolfed down the banana in front of dozens of journalists and influencers.
The 30-year-old had previously given a speech calling the work of Art “iconic” and drawing parallels between conceptual art and cryptocurrencies. “It’s much better than other bananas,” he said after swallowing the first bite. “It’s really very good,” he emphasized.
Value of art
The work consists of a banana hanging on a wall with a large piece of silver tape. Entitled “Comedian”, it was created by the Italian iconoclastic artist and provocateur Maurizio Cattelan. It was sold last week in New York for $6.2 million (5.9 million euros) at an auction organized by Sotheby’s.
Justin Sun said he felt “disbelief” in the first ten seconds after winning the sale. After the next ten seconds, he had decided that he would eat the banana. “Eating it at a press conference can also be part of the history of this work of art,” he explained Friday.
Justin Sun peels off the banana before eating it.
PETER PARKS / AFP
The work exists in three copies. It is supposed to question the notion of art and its value. She has been talked about a lot since her first exhibition in 2019 in Miami. The owner of one of the works receives a certificate of authenticity along with instructions on how to replace the fruit when it begins to rot.
Art NFT
Justin Sun on Friday compared conceptual works like “Comedian” to NFT (“non-fungible token”) art and decentralized blockchain technology. “Most of these objects and ideas exist as (intellectual property) and on the internet, as opposed to something physical,” he stressed.
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