Eccentric crypto tycoon forks out $6MILLION for bizarre ‘artwork’ of banana taped to wall…but won’t even get the banana

A BILLIONAIRE has paid implicit $6 cardinal for the bizarre artwork of a banana duct-taped to a partition - but helium won't adjacent get the banana.

Cryptocurrency tycoon and Chinese collector Justin Sun bought the 2019 instauration by Italian creator Maurizio Cattelan astatine a Sotheby's auction connected Wednesday successful New York.

The portion titled "Comedian" had an estimated worth of $1.2 million, with bidding opening astatine $800,000.

It had antecedently sold successful 2019 for conscionable $120,000 earlier Sun paid an extortionate $6.24 cardinal for it this week.

Auctioneer Oliver Barker called the pieces "iconic" and "disruptive," earlier being shocked astatine the world that helium was selling a banana astatine an auction - "Words I ne'er thought I'd say," helium joked.

In a property release, the caller proprietor of Comedian defended the terms helium paid for the artwork aft outbidding six others.

He said: "This is not conscionable an artwork. It represents a taste improvement that bridges the worlds of art, memes, and the cryptocurrency community. 

"I judge this portion volition animate much thought and treatment successful the aboriginal and volition go a portion of history."

But, contempt the obscene magnitude of money helium paid, Sun volition person to conception the artwork himself - receiving conscionable a rotation of duct portion and a caller banana.

He volition besides get a certificate of authenticity and instructions connected however to instal the portion himself.

Sotheby's confirmed to CNN earlier the auction that neither the portion nor the banana are the originals utilized successful 2019.

Sun has paid implicit $6 cardinal for the conception of the artwork.

A spokesperson for the auction location said successful an email: "Comedian is simply a conceptual artwork, and the existent carnal materials are replaced with each installation."

The caller proprietor of Comedian has admitted that helium plans to devour the artwork,

Sun said successful his property release: "In the coming days, I volition personally devour the banana arsenic portion of this unsocial creator experience, honouring its spot successful some creation past and fashionable culture."

At erstwhile installations of the artwork, radical person eaten the banana with 1 pupil from the Seoul National University successful South Korea saying helium did truthful due to the fact that helium was hungry.

He removed the fruit, ate it, and taped the peel backmost onto the wall, a depository spokesperson confirmed aft the incidental past year.

A akin incidental happened astatine the French creation assemblage Perrotin erstwhile David Datuna, a show creator took the effect disconnected the partition and devoured it successful beforehand of hundreds of attendees.

Datuna aboriginal attempted to warrant the determination arsenic a portion of show creation alternatively than vandalism.

Wednesday's auction was the archetypal clip radical could bid connected the artwork.

Sotheby’s caput of modern creation for the Americas, David Galperin celebrated that yet "the nationalist person a accidental successful deciding its existent value."

He said the pieces "balances profound captious thought and subversive wit" and is simply a "defining enactment for the creator and for our generation."

Galperin added: "If astatine its core, ‘Comedian’ questions the precise conception of the worth of art, past putting the enactment astatine auction… volition beryllium the eventual realization of its indispensable conceptual idea.

"The nationalist volition yet person a accidental successful deciding its existent value."