HONG KONG — A cryptocurrency entrepreneur who purchased a chunk of conceptual artwork consisting of a easy banana, duct-taped to a wall, for $6.2 million final week ate the fruit in Hong Kong on Friday.
Chinese language-born Justin Solar peeled off the duct tape and loved the banana in a press convention held in The Peninsula Hong Kong, one of many metropolis’s priciest inns, within the common procuring district of Tsim Sha Tsui.
“It tastes significantly better than different bananas. Certainly, fairly good,” he mentioned.
“Comic,” by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, was a phenomenon when it debuted in 2019 at Artwork Basel Miami Seaside, as festivalgoers tried to make out whether or not the one yellow piece of fruit affixed to a white wall with silver duct tape was a joke or a cheeky commentary on questionable requirements amongst artwork collectors. At one level, one other artist took the banana off the wall and ate it.
The piece attracted a lot consideration that it needed to be withdrawn from view. However three editions offered for between $120,000 and $150,000, in accordance with the gallery dealing with gross sales on the time.
Final week, Solar, founding father of cryptocurrency platform TRON, made the successful bid on the Sotheby’s public sale in New York. Or, extra precisely, Solar bought a certificates of authenticity that provides him the authority to duct-tape a banana to a wall and name it “Comic.”
On the time, Solar mentioned in a press release that the piece “represents a cultural phenomenon that bridges the worlds of artwork, memes, and the cryptocurrency neighborhood.”
“I’ll personally eat the banana as a part of this distinctive creative expertise, honoring its place in each artwork historical past and common tradition,” he mentioned.
The South China Morning Submit reported the banana he ate on Friday was purchased in Hong Kong.
Solar on Tuesday introduced on X he had invested $30 million in World Liberty Monetary, which was launched by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in September as his household’s cryptocurrency enterprise.
Solar mentioned within the submit that his platform, TRON, is “dedicated to creating America nice once more and main innovation.” Following his funding in Trump’s enterprise, he grew to become an advisor of World Liberty Monetary.
Final yr, Solar was charged by the U.S. Securities and Trade Fee with fraud and different securities legislation violations. In response, he mentioned on X the criticism “lacks benefit.”
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