Justin Sun, cryptocurrency entrepreneur and art collector, made global headlines by eating a $6.2 million banana that was part of a controversial artwork. The piece, Comedian, was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and had sparked debates about the nature and value of art.
The artwork, consisting of a banana duct-taped to a wall, was purchased by Sun at a Sotheby’s auction. On Nov. 29, 2024, Sun fulfilled his promise to eat the banana during a press conference in Hong Kong. Sun claimed that consuming the banana added a new dimension to the piece’s evolving history, turning the act into a form of performance art. Attendees of the event were given a banana and a roll of duct tape as souvenirs.
The event occurred on Nov. 29, 2024, at 2:00 PM GMT+8, following Sun’s public announcement earlier that month.
The press conference took place in Hong Kong, where Sun used the occasion to draw parallels between the artwork and cryptocurrency, highlighting the shared themes of value, perception, and cultural impact.
Sun described the banana as more than just an artwork, calling it a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and crypto. He intended for the piece to inspire conversations about innovation and the evolving definitions of art. “Eating it at a press conference can also become a part of the artwork’s history,” Sun explained, emphasizing the transient nature of the piece.
Sun ate the banana in front of an audience, turning the event into a performance that extended the narrative of the original artwork. His actions were framed as symbolic of cryptocurrency’s ethos—challenging traditional notions of value and permanence. The event not only added to the artwork’s cultural legacy but also amplified discussions about modern art’s purpose and interpretation, cementing Comedian as a defining moment in contemporary art discourse.
