CAUTION! demolition meets design in new york sunshine reincarnation

demolition meets design in miami’s wynwood district as new york-based artist john margaritis — creator of the art, fashion, and design studio new york sunshine — presents CAUTION! for miami art week 2017. the installation is the latest development of a piece in a signature design pieces made especially for the store last year, which hosts the streetwear brand brainchild of A$AP bari.

CAUTION! is the latest development in a design piece originally originally displayed in the art basel pop-up shop VLONE
all images © designboom unless stated otherwise

drawing directly from previous incarnations, margaritis has repurposed concrete tanks once filled with floating basketballs for his ‘water box series‘, presented during miami art week in 2016 before being destroyed in what designboom believed to be the final instalment in the project. in the year before, margaritis’ presentation was similarly monumental, installing 130 feet of wavy wooden shelving to display an edition of 300 hand-dyed indigo shirts, each numbered as an edition of art.

five concrete tanks from margaritis’ previous installation are repurposed

now the studio reveals an additional phase to the ‘water box’ series, repurposing the concrete forms to create CAUTION!. in doing so, the structures — which were originally built in-situ using wooden frames and hand-pouring structural reinforced concrete (weighing in at 7,000 pounds) — have all been been moved and placed by hand, using wooden wedges, steel pipes, crowbars, pinch bars, pry bars, and 6×6 wooden ties.

the tanks were originally built in-situ using wooden frames and hand-pouring structural reinforced concrete

mirroring the rough and raw quality of the brand’s aesthetic, margaritis continues in building on the foundations that make up their preferred palette of materials. earlier on this year, when the new york sunshine brand opened its summer pop-up shop in southampton, the studio unveiled the purpose designed ‘foundation chair’, made from formed concrete, triple laminated tempered glass, and welded steel.

the concrete forms have been moved by hand,
image © new york studio

as well as the chair also being on display, the exhibit pays homage to the brand’s other works such as ‘hoop dreams‘ – a series of photographs capturing basketball hoops unnaturally situated in the ocean, and ‘walking on water‘ – an installation featuring a mirrored-cube, and the illusion of a human figure moving on top of it.