John Margaritis, artist and founder of New York Sunshine, has partnered with apparel company Dickies to create an installation smack dab in the middle of nowhere.
Entitled SUN DYED IN TEXAS, the installation takes the form of a house silhouette clad in Dickies fabric. Complementing the house is a billboard, also clad in Dickies fabric, that reads “JUST ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE.”
Margaritis says that he found inspiration for the installation when he visited Dickies’ headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, where he got to browse their archive of vintage pieces that were found in ranches and farmhouses. Noting how the pieces were worn and torn yet still holding up well, the idea for accelerating the ageing process to test durability was born.
‘The goal is for nature to interact with the pieces. We positioned the billboards and house so that each side will get a different amount of sun and fade differently,” Margaritis told designboom. “I want the sun to bleach it, sand to blast it, and whatever else goes on in the desert at night in marfa (aliens) to do their thing.”
Once the installation is taken down, the Dickies fabric will be upcycled into a New York Sunshine and Dickies clothing collaboration set to release in 2022. In addition, the construction wood will be reused for a coinciding pop-up store in New York to celebrate the collab drop.
“When I go to see installation art, a lot of times I find myself looking at the work from a build perspective; how is it assembled, what materials are used, how much does it weigh, where is it located, and how did they move it here– rather than from an critical perspective,” explains Margaritis. “With the work I produce, I want people to have part of that sentiment.”
“I want them to think about whether this work is a load of commercial bullshit or if there is more to it past what they see at face value,” adds Margaritis. “I want them to think about the balance between fashion, art and design, which are all of equal importance to me. When the house glows blue during the wild west texas sunsets, it has this trippy mirage feel to it, which ties into the billboards reading ‘JUST ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE’.”
Located in Marfa, Texas, the installation will be open to the public for viewing from August 13 to 26.
All images in this article are courtesy of John Margaritis.
