Justin Sun eats the $6.2 million banana duct-taped to a wall

The Tron founder drew a parallel between art, NFTs, and blockchain during the event.

Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.

Tron founder Justin Sun ate the banana duct-taped to a wall, which he recently bought for $6.2 million at Sotheby’s.

The event took place at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong.  

The artwork, titled “Comedian,” was created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and gained global fame in 2019 when it debuted at Art Basel in Miami Beach. 

According to The Guardian, Sun used the event to draw parallels between conceptual art, non-fungible tokens (NFT), and blockchain.

‘Quite good’

After giving a speech, Sun took a bite of the fruit, declaring it “quite good.” As souvenirs, attendees received rolls of duct tape and bananas, a nod to the artwork.  

For him, the piece represents more than satire; it is a statement on the intersection of art, technology, and global culture.  

The banana, sourced from a fruit stall on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, cost less than a dollar. Its original seller, 74-year-old Shah Alam, reportedly cried when he learned the fruit had been resold for millions.

In response, Sun pledged to buy 100,000 bananas from Alam’s stall to distribute globally as a “celebration of the connection between art and everyday life.” However, as the New York Times reported, Alam said that selling bananas generates no profit.

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