Samuel Roy-Bois
Sculpture/installation
Creating an impromptu gathering place, a dance floor welcomes passers-by to spend time dancing or simply watching others move to a lively soundtrack. Roy-Bois' meeting place is inspired by the iconic dance floor from the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever which recently sold at public auction. The work explores the idea of the dance floor as an autonomous entity, utterly detached from any specific social reality or architectural context. Roy-Bois releases the dance floor from its usual exclusive environs of the club scene and instead invites it to be visible and used by a diverse community.
Modeled after the spirit of the famed disco floor, the space is redesigned with a do-it-yourself approach. A twelve-hour soundtrack is pumped out of a loaded MP3 player hooked up to a set of home speakers. Built from lumber and Plexiglas, the dance floor is humble and homemade. The floor pulses with light from everyday light bulbs, synchronized to the beat of the music.
Both a visual artist and musician currently based in Vancouver, Roy-Bois creates work often characterized by a sense of play and intelligence, with an interest in our perception and use of the built environment in the architectural and in installation art.
Photo credit: Merlin Bronques
Map location 3
180 Queen Street West (north side, walkway West of Campbell House)
