The piece is composed of a banana that was purchased at a local grocery store and affixed to a wall using duct tape. It sold in New York for four times the estimated sales price.
At an auction in New York, Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, acquired an artwork that featured a banana that was affixed to a wall for $6.2 million. Right now, he intends to consume it.
In a post on X on November 21, Sun stated, “I have purchased the banana.” “This is not merely an artwork; it symbolizes a cultural phenomenon that unites the cryptocurrency community, memes, and the realm of art.”
As part of this distinctive artistic experience, I will personally consume the banana in the days ahead,” he also stated.
The artwork, “Comedian,” is a fresh banana that has been affixed to a wall with duct tape. It is the work of Maurizio Cattelan. Sun has purchased instructions on how to attach a banana to a wall and a certificate of authenticity to refer to the artwork as Comedian. The proprietor of the artwork is able to replace the banana as it rots and the tape as necessary.
Sotheby’s, the auctioneer, reported on X that the work prompted “over six minutes of intense bargaining,” marking its inaugural auction.
As the auctioneer joked that “it’s escaping through the auction room” and exhorted bidders not to “let it pass away,” the bidding began at $800,000 and rapidly escalated to millions of dollars, eliciting moans from the audience.
The hammer fell on Sun’s $5.2 million bid, which was over four times the presale estimate of between $1 million and $1.5 million, and included $1 million in Sotheby’s expenses. Sun was able to outbid six other bidders.
It is probable that Sun requires an abundance of nutrients. Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin, is reportedly under criminal investigation by the United States Justice Department. The blockchain of the Tron founder processes the majority of the volume.
Sun has also been the subject of criminal investigations by the FBI and New York prosecutors, according to reports.
The Securities and Exchange Commission and Tron also sued him in March 2023 for allegedly selling the Tron token as an unregistered security and wash-trading it to increase its price. He denies these allegations.
The third documented instance of an individual feasting on the artwork will occur if Sun consumes the banana.
When the work was on display in a Seoul art museum in April of last year, a student consumed the banana and subsequently affixed the peel to the wall. He later stated that he consumed it due to his hunger, which results from skipping meals.
The initial incident involving the banana occurred when the artist David Datuna consumed the piece after it was sold for $120,000 at its 2019 Miami Art Basel debut. He did not incur any legal repercussions as a result of the banana’s replacement.
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