as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the world to endure unprecedented social distancing measures, john margaritis, the multidisciplinary artist behind new york sunshine, found himself on the east end of long island with his immediate family. like many, margaritis was overwhelmed with the events unfolding worldwide and their consequences. ‘I couldn’t make clothes because everything was delayed due to covid,’ he says. ‘at the time, there was no commission work to be had – I really just wanted to make something to stay creative, busy and to keep myself from going insane.’
all images by new york sunshine
in the absence of usual human connection, with many projects on hold and with the coronavirus wreaking havoc around the world, margaritis’thoughts were inclined towards escapism. ‘thinking about everything that was going on, and wanting to get away – I asked my dad if he had ever built a boat.’ and so, a project without an apparent reason began. ‘that night we wrote down a cut sheet — the terminology used in the world of contracting for the amount of materials needed for a project. the next day I went to the lumber yard and picked up a bunch of wood and began to build.’
the 750-pound row boat took the install team 500 hours to build, and once completed, they brought it out to the bay to test it on water. magaritis, whose creative process relies on — literally — building random projects that with time find their place in different creative worlds, understood what he wanted to do with the boat once he saw it in motion with the basketball hoop standing. he wanted to film the sequel to his short film RUN.
‘RUN’new york sunshine from jordan hall
and like that, everything fell into place, resulting in a 3-minute film titled repent or perish that addresses themes like youthfulness, the desire to run away, and being drowned by thoughts. the motion picture follows the protagonist, crazy chris, into a night-turned-morning adventure that eventually leaves him stranded out at sea playing with a basketball.
‘usually when I’m creating I don’t know where the end product fits, I don’t know where it will live,’ concludes margaritis. ‘I don’t know if it will end up at a film festival or at an art show, and I know that’s an untraditional way of doing things, it’s a little sketchy, but it’s worked out so far… most importantly though, I love making things that don’t fit into any category. this is not the last time you’ll see this boat. the boat is not a one-dimensional thing – like everything in life, it’s a work in progress.’
project info:
name: repent or perish
creators: new york sunshine
type: short film
directors: john margaritis and jordan hall
