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

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.