Chethma De Mel, Jadetimes Staff
C. J. De Mel is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Entertainment News
Comedian, the satirical work by Maurizio Cattelan, featuring a banana taped to a wall, has sold at Sotheby's in New York for the astonishing amount of $6.2 million (£4.9 million), way above its estimation.
The piece was sold to Justin Sun, a Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur and founder of the Tron blockchain network, who outbid six competitors for the iconic installation. The day after it had sold, Mr. Sun said he planned to eat the banana personally as part of what he termed a "unique artistic experience.
The notorious fruit installation turned into a 'Wonder of the World' after its display in 2019 among debates over what defines art. It was originally bought at about $0.35 but has turned into one of the costliest fruits ever sold.
The artwork, coming with instructions for replacing the banana once it rots, has a history of being eaten. In 2023, a South Korean art student ate the banana while it was on display at Seoul's Leeum Museum of Art; museum staff replaced it. Similarly, in 2019, a performance artist took off and ate the fruit on display during Art Basel in Miami, shortly after it sold for $120,000. The banana was then replaced without incident.
Justin Sun has been the center of a few controversies regarding cryptocurrency. In 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused him of fraud, claiming that he had artificially inflated trading volumes of TRX, the cryptocurrency token for Tron. Sun denied these allegations.
In its plainness, Comedian has remained a favourite with every passing year, finding its place in contemporary art history while challenging conventional notions of value and creativity.
