A banana duct-taped to a wall has caused quite the stir this week at Art Basel Miami Beach, going on sale for $120,000.
The work, titled “Comedian,” was created by artist Maurizio Cattelan and consists of a banana, bought in a Miami grocery store, stuck to the wall with a single piece of duct tape, according to CNN.
The piece was presented by Paris-based contemporary art gallery, Galerie Perrotin.
Gallery founder Emmanuel Perrotin commented on the piece prior to the sale, noting that bananas are “a symbol of global trade, a double entendre, as well as a classic device for humor,” according to Artnet.
Cattelan first came up with the concept a year ago, according to a press statement released by the gallery.
“Back then, Cattelan was thinking of a sculpture that was shaped like a banana,” the statement said. “Every time he traveled, he brought a banana with him and hung it in his hotel room to find inspiration. He made several models: first in resin, then in bronze and in painted bronze (before) finally coming back to the initial idea of a real banana.”
Cattelan’s other work includes a gilded toilet titled “America,” which was part of his exhibition “Victory is Not an Option,” according to People. In September, the piece was stolen from Bleinheim Palace in England, but has not yet been recovered.