Cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun, 34, ate a banana on Nov. 29, just a week after spending US$6.2 million (S$8.3 million) on an artwork featuring the fruit duct-taped to a wall.
Sun said it was "much better than other bananas" after his first bite, according to AFP.
Draws parallels between conceptual art and cryptocurrency
Just before taking a bite of the art, Sun gave a speech drawing parallels between conceptual art and cryptocurrency to the dozens of journalists and influencers at the press conference in Hong Kong.
Comparing conceptual art to NFT art and decentralised blockchain technology, he said "Most of its objects and ideas exist as (intellectual property) and on the internet, as opposed to something physical".
The entrepreneur had outbid six others for Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's infamous 2019 work "Comedian" at a Sotheby's auction in New York on Nov. 20.
The controversial artwork was intended to prompt others to question what should be considered art.
After he won the bid, Sun decided he would eat the banana.
He explained that eating it at a press conference could also become a part of the artwork's history.
Not first time the banana was devoured
This is not the first time the banana featured in Cattelan's "Comedian" was eaten: it was devoured once by a performance artist in 2019 and yet again by a South Korean student in 2023, BBC reported.
Both did not pay to do so.
The banana is regularly replaced before exhibitions.
Sun's bid bought him the right to display the installation, as well as instructions on how to replace the fruit when it goes bad.
Each attendee at the event on Nov. 29 was given a banana and a roll of duct tape as a souvenir.
Faces controversy
Sun currently faces a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for defrauding investors with fake trades in his crypto business TRON Network.
The Chinese-born entrepreneur also faced controversy after he became the largest investor in World Liberty Financial, a crypto project backed by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
Sun denied that the move was an attempt to influence Trump or U.S, politics, reported AFP.
Top image via Peter Parks/AFP
