In the 17th century, the gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin coined the famous phrase "tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are''. This phrase is used to demonstrate how different cultural habits manifest themselves in our eating habits and in our interaction with others when we eat. Despite living in a globalized world, it is clear that French people do not eat the same as Americans, and that Koreans have different dishes than Japanese people. In fact, each culture, regardless of its background, revises its dishes in a unique way, transforming its cultural heritage into new ones.

The art history offers many examples of this phenomenon. When painters represented the food of the aristocracy, they intended to show their social class. Similarly, some painters simply wanted to show to the world the eating habits of the community. In this way, food becomes another element that shapes our identity as a group. The food we eat, in a way, determines our origins and roots. Likewise, art serves as a medium to show our cultural habits to the world. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to explore how the art world portrayed, in one way or another, bananas.

The art history offers many examples of this phenomenon. When painters represented the food of the aristocracy, they intended to show their social class. Similarly, some painters simply wanted to show to the world the eating habits of the community

First, I want to mention a relatively unknown artist named Hermeregildo Bustos (1832 - 1907), a Mexican painter who focused on portraying his small community through portraits of those closest to him. His unique style was characterized by clean compositions and a focused approach to the subjects he wanted to portray. A rare work that does not follow this style, "Still life with fruit" is intended to resemble a semiotic encyclopedia of the food preferences of the people.

Another artist who represented bananas in his work was Giorgio de Chirico (1888–1978), highlighting the work "the uncertainty of the poet", using bananas as a representation of the contemporary era, in contrast to the arcades in the background and the statue of Aphrodite, representing the classical era and knowledge.

In the pop art scene, Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987), one of the most important artists of modern art, who changed our perception of the world in terms of globalization and mass media, also saw the banana as an element of the world worth representing. We're talking about the cover of Velvet underground & Nico, the group's first album. Less well known are the photographs of bananas he took in 1978, a series that focuses on the object, transforming this seemingly ordinary item into an object of study.

Less well known are the photographs of bananas he took in 1978, a series that focuses on the object, transforming this seemingly ordinary item into an object of study.

Another contemporary artist who has seen the banana much more than an object, and has been able to decode its cultural meanings, is Sarah Lucas (1962 - ), an artist who likes to play with sexual and identity elements. Sarah used the banana in one of her self-portraits, eating this type of object. She explores how elements of power and gender identification can be used to transform people's perception of others or themselves.

Moving to the world of postmodern art, two different ways of representing bananas arise. On one hand Maurizio Cattelan, renowned conceptual artist who created "Comedian" in 2019 at the Art Basel fair in Miami, by simply buying a banana at the supermarket and taping it to the wall with duct tape. Elsewhere, street artists Mr. Brainwash and Banksy contribute to this banana-themed narrative, with Mr. Brainwash's silkscreen print "Banana Split" and Banksy's mural in homage to the fruit in the iconic scene from Pulp Fiction. In Banksy's interpretation, the protagonists, initially wielding guns, now grab bananas, giving a playful twist to the conventional.

Street artists Mr. Brainwash and Banksy contribute to this banana-themed narrative, with Mr. Brainwash's silkscreen print "Banana Split" and Banksy's mural in homage to the fruit in the iconic scene from Pulp Fiction. In Banksy's interpretation, the protagonists, initially wielding guns, now grab bananas, giving a playful twist to the conventional.

Finally, we would like to make a special mention to the work of Ryol, an Indonesian artist born in the 1990s. His creations are totally influenced by street art and popular culture. He recently appeared in a video by Sonia Borrell (@soniabblondon) where the collector shows off her favorite pieces. In Ryol's work there is a nude character depicted, created by using spray paint cans and a street art style. Fast Art (2022) shows a clear reference to Maurizio Catelan's work Comedian in the upper left corner, creating a striking contrast between the fully nude character and the homage to the luxurious tropical fruit.

Stay tuned for Ryol's next exhibition at VILLAZAN Madrid in spring this year.