'Hungry artist' eats US$120,000 banana on gallery wall

Sunday, 8 December 2019 15:21

Artwork of a banana duct-taped to a wall that sold last week for a staggering $120,000 (around AED 440,760) has been eaten by a performance artist.

New York-based performance artist David Datuna ate the banana displayed at the international gallery Perrotin at Art Basel in Miami.

Titled 'Comedian', the banana is the work of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan.

"He did not destroy the art work. The banana is the idea," asserted Lucien Terras, director of museum relations for Galerie Perrotin.

Collectors are buying the certificate of authenticity, not the banana itself, he added.

According to media reports, gallery owner Emmanuel Perrotin was upset by the news and got a new banana retaped to the wall.

More from International News

Russia plans nuclear power plant on the moon within a decade

Russia plans to put a nuclear power plant on the moon in the next decade to supply its lunar space programme and a joint Russian-Chinese research station, as major powers rush to explore the earth's only natural satellite.
Southeastern Taiwan shaken by 6.1 magnitude quake

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 struck Taiwan's southeastern coastal county of Taitung on Wednesday, the island's weather administration said, although there were no immediate reports of damage.
At least two killed in Pennsylvania nursing home explosion

A pair of explosions and a fire, apparently sparked by leaking gas, has ripped through a nursing home near Philadelphia on Tuesday, killing at least two people and prompting an intense search for victims in a collapsed portion of the building, officials said.
Turkey says electrical failure reported before Libyan military jet crash

A private jet carrying the chief of staff of Libya’s army reported an electrical failure and requested an emergency landing shortly before crashing near Ankara, Turkey’s head of communications has announced on Wednesday.
Death toll rises to 6 in Mexican plane crash

At least six people, including a 2-year-old burn victim, have died when a small Mexican Navy aircraft crashed on Monday off the Texas coast near Galveston during a humanitarian mission to transfer the child for treatment in the United States.

Dubai gears up for final phase of single-use plastic ban
Dubai Municipality has announced that the final phase of the ban on single-use plastic products in the emirate will come into force on January 1, 2026.
UAE hails Yemen prisoner swap agreement as key humanitarian step
The UAE has welcomed the recent agreement signed in Muscat on the exchange of prisoners and detainees in Yemen, calling it an important humanitarian step that eases suffering and supports stability in the region.
UAE reinforces global humanitarian leadership
The UAE has reinforced its position as a global humanitarian leader in 2025, ranking third worldwide in aid contributions with $1.46 billion, according to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs' (OCHA) Financial Tracking Service.