CHICAGO, Jan. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Florock Polymer Flooring, manufacturer of innovative commercial, industrial and institutional concrete floor coatings, has introduced the FloroStone Decorative Flooring System, a revolutionary new type of decorative epoxy flooring that combines a sanitary, high performance traffic surface with modern, upscale aesthetics in an economical, quick-turnaround system. FloroStone's cutting-edge slurry formulation is a radical departure from traditional double broadcast epoxy systems, requiring approximately 60% fewer man hours and 40% less turnaround time, in addition to enabling virtually undetectable repair of minor damage when needed. Available in high gloss or satin finishes and choice of slip-resistant textures, FloroStone is a cost-effective commercial flooring solution with impressive durability, beautiful style and fast turnaround installation for today's compressed construction schedules.

With more than sixty-five years in business, Florock's experienced, Chicago-based R&D team developed FloroStone with its approved contractor network in mind. The new system's quick, economical application allows professional installers to provide outstanding results with far less facility downtime. Being able to offer end users the ability to get back to normal operations faster gives Florock contractors a strong competitive edge.

New FloroStone features twelve (12) exciting color blends, plus a nearly unlimited selection of custom color options. Utilizing plastic strips or tape-off methods, FloroStone can be used to create unique floor designs to stunning effect. Despite its luxurious appearance, maintenance is simple and economical.

"We're extremely excited to launch FloroStone it stands apart from anything else we've seen on the market," said Peter Kirton, Vice-President of Florock. "It's not every day that innovation of this kind comes along. The initial response from our customers has been remarkable and our sales team couldn't be more enthusiastic. We look forward to the growth of this new product line and plan to build upon the revolutionary technology going forward."

A new type of commercial and institutional epoxy system offering rich, saturated colors, visual depth and design versatility, along with quick, labor-saving installation and seamless repair, new Florock FloroStone truly is a revolution in decorative epoxy flooring.

Experienced Florock professionals are available throughout the Americas, the United Kingdom, and other locations around the globe. Call 1-800-FLOROCK (356-7625) or +1-773-376-7132 to find one near you.

ABOUT FLOROCK, MANUFACTURED IN THE U.S.A. --Florock has been a leader in the manufacture, research and development, and installation of solutions-oriented concrete floor coatings and toppings since 1952. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with West Coast office, warehouse, technical representation and local approved installers, Florock Polymer Flooring is now one the most complete resinous flooring lines available, offering full support from design through construction -- and beyond. Please visitour websitefor more information.

SOURCE Florock Polymer Flooring

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New FloroStone With Its Fast Turnaround, Lower Cost Installation and Luxurious Beauty is a Revolution in Decorative Epoxy Flooring by Florock -...

If you have flooring you dont like whether its carpet, vinyl or unappealing wood it can feel like theres no way to escape it, no matter how many rugs you pile on top. But if you have floors you love, walking across them can be a daily pleasure.

Thats because the floor is the base upon which all other decorating decisions are built. Change your floors, and you change the character of your home. Its as simple as that.

So its no surprise that new floors specifically, hardwood floors are at the top of many renovation wish lists. Not all wood floors, however, are equally appealing or appropriate for every space.

We look at a building holistically, so the walls and windows, and the environment that were in, all feed into the decision-making about the floors, said Paul Bertelli, the design principal of JLF Architects in Bozeman, Montana, whose firm chooses a different wood floor for almost every project.

The wood flooring industry has evolved considerably in recent years, as wider planks have increased in popularity and finish and installation options have expanded. Given all the choices available, we asked architects and flooring professionals for advice on how to pick the right one.

Browsing through flooring samples to choose a type of wood and a color for your new floor is probably the most enjoyable part of the process. At this stage, much depends on personal preference and your overall vision for your home.

One of the most popular species is white oak, a classic, durable and widely available wood. It can also take stain very well, said Chris Sy, the president of Carlisle Wide Plank Floors. That means it can be customized for a wide variety of aesthetics, from bleached off-white to ebony.

Other types of wood offer different looks. Hickory has a lot of color variation, from light tones to dark tones, Sy said.

Those who want a rich, darker brown usually select walnut, while those who prefer blonder wood may opt for maple or birch.

As for choosing a stain, the current trend is toward subtle colors that leave the wood with a natural look. Some designers even eschew stain altogether.

We dont ever recommend staining floors, said Elizabeth Roberts, an architect in Brooklyn, although she does occasionally use oak darkened by a process called fuming.

If youre having trouble deciding which species and color is best for your home, consider the other wood elements in the room, Bertelli suggested. If you have walnut cabinetry, for instance, a walnut floor is an easy match; if you have oak doors, oak floors are a natural choice.

Limit the palette, he said, to make it more tranquil and serene.

The way that logs are sawed into boards has a big effect on the grain pattern thats visible in the floor.

With flat-sawn (or plain-sawn) boards, the grain has a wavy appearance. The defining feature is this arching cathedral, said Jamie Hammel, using the industry name for the pattern.

Hammel, owner of the Hudson Co., a supplier of wood flooring and paneling, noted that quarter-sawn boards offer a more linear appearance, with faint striping: The prized feature are these medullary rays, which some people call tiger stripes.

Rift-sawn boards offer the straightest, cleanest grain, whereas live-sawn boards may include all types of grain patterns.

A floor can use one cut exclusively or can incorporate various types of cuts. A mix of quarter- and rift-sawn boards, for instance, is a popular option for flooring with understated grain patterns. For a warm, woodsy appearance, using only flat-sawn boards might be the best option.

In addition to the way the wood is cut, you can choose how many knots and other distinguishing marks you want to see.

We call it character, Hammel said, noting that options include clear (no knots), light character (a few smaller knots) and character-grade (the most, and largest, knots).

Reclaimed wood is another option. Many flooring companies offer wood salvaged from barns, factories and other structures, which can have even more character with nail holes, cracks and saw-blade marks.

You can find oak siding off a 150-year-old building thats been weathered beautifully and use that for flooring, Bertelli said, adding that his firm frequently does just that. We want character in the floor, and our philosophy is that there are perfect imperfections.

Another major decision is whether to buy prefinished flooring, sold with its final color and topcoat in place, or unfinished flooring that can be stained and finished by an installer after its put down.

One of the advantages of prefinished flooring is that it can be installed quickly, usually in a single day.

When floors are finished on site, the home has to be vacated to allow for sanding, staining and finishing, including drying time.

Its very messy work, and its very important that nobody step on it for days, or weeks, at a time, Roberts said. It really alters the construction schedule.

Because prefinished flooring is made in a factory, companies can also produce it with a wide range of exotic finishes that might be difficult for an installer to re-create on-site and with great consistency.

You know what youre going to get, said Jane Kim, an architect in New York. Some installers who do their own finishing, she noted, may not have the experience to get the color you want, especially if you want shades of gray or a really pale finish.

A key difference, however, is that prefinished boards usually have beveled edges to allow for slight irregularities, which creates more pronounced lines between the boards after installation.

Because unfinished flooring is sanded flat after it is installed, the finished floor typically looks more like a solid plane, without gaps.

Most hardwood floors today have a finishing coat of clear polyurethane. Polyurethane essentially sits on top of the wood, protecting it from moisture, wear and staining, Hammel said.

Water-based polyurethanes have grown in popularity in recent years, and the finishing sheen can range from matte to glossy.

A polyurethane finish is very durable, but once damaged or worn, it can be difficult to repair, Hammel said, because it typically requires refinishing an entire board, if not the whole floor.

An alternative is an oil-based finish. Oil penetrates into the wood and therefore tends to make it look a bit richer, he said. And because it doesnt leave a film on top of the wood, it allows for relatively easy spot repairs.

The downside to an oil finish is that it requires more regular maintenance. An oil floor will dry out over time, Hammel said. But it can be easily refreshed, with more oil.

Solid wood is just what it sounds like: a plank of your chosen wood, cut from a log. An engineered wood floor is composed of a thinner layer of your chosen wood on top of a manufactured base of layered wood, like plywood.

Engineered wood has a number of benefits. Its built to be more dimensionally stable, Hammel said. It will expand and contract less, reducing the chance that the boards will warp or shrink over time.

Engineered flooring is especially good in basements, in high humidity areas and over radiant heating systems, he said.

And in homes with concrete subfloors, like many high-rise apartments, engineered flooring can be glued directly to the slab, whereas solid wood usually requires a plywood subfloor so it can be nailed in place.

If your ceiling height is low, saving that extra bit of space by using engineered flooring can be important, Kim said: Some clients are really obsessed with getting the highest ceiling possible, so if they can save an inch on the floor, theyre going to go with engineered flooring.

But it isnt always the best option. Some people simply like the idea of solid hardwood better, and in extremely dry areas, solid wood may perform better.

Engineered floors are made to work best in environments that stay above 30% relative humidity, Sy said. If the environment is going to be consistently below that, engineered floors may experience slight cracking in the wear layer.

Also, depending on the thickness of that top layer, engineered floors may allow for sanding and refinishing only once or twice or perhaps not at all while solid wood can be refinished many times. (To avoid this limitation when buying engineered flooring, look for a product with a thick top layer.)

Narrow boards with widths of about 2 to 3 inches were once standard for hardwood flooring. Not anymore. Five- to 8-inch widths are now commonplace, and some homeowners opt to go even wider, with broad planks measuring up to a foot wide and beyond.

We make floors up to 20 inches wide, Sy said.

In general, the wider the boards, the higher the cost. And the wider it gets, the less stable it gets, because the wood wants to move, Roberts said. When we get into really wide flooring, we almost always recommend an engineered floor, because that prevents it from cupping and warping.

Most floors are installed with the boards in straight lines, but there are many alternative installation patterns, including herringbone and chevron, which are enjoying renewed popularity.

You can also mix it up. Roberts sometimes uses wider boards and complicated installation patterns in the primary living spaces, and narrower boards in a straightforward arrangement in secondary spaces, like hallways and bedrooms.

This approach has been favored for centuries as a way to save money, but it can also prevent extravagant flooring choices from overpowering smaller rooms.

Remember, Roberts said, the goal is to create something timeless not to make your entire home look like its three boards wide.

See more here:
How hard can it be to choose a hardwood floor? - Seattle Times

Installation view of Dreams of a Sleeping Worldby Oscar Oiwa at the USC Pacific Asia Museum (all photos by the author for Hyperallergic)

PASADENA, Calif. Imagine being in a soft bed, eyes fluttering to brush away sleep, and slowly noticing that youve been transported to a garden. The world has turned black and white, your room has no floor or ceiling, and the cosmic textures of the universe swirl before your eyes. You might feel this way in Oscar Oiwas immersive, 360 installation, a new world created inside a large nylon dome. Its part of Dreams of a Sleeping World, his first solo exhibition in the United States, on view at the USC Pacific Asia Museum.

Before stepping into the showpiece, viewers get to see Oiwa through his paintings, which take on different degrees of fantasy. In Light Shop, a Japanese convenience store is partially hidden behind a burst of bright globules, a sight that is magical, but grounded. Hotel Office 6 taps more into a dreamscape. It depicts a room in a traditional rykan, or Japanese inn, transformed into a zen garden. Tatami mats become makeshift bridges across koi ponds, but the fish swim above the futon and the low work table. Oiwa is not present, but an open laptop, a camera, and a bottle of sake suggest that hes only stepped away for a moment.

Theres also a short documentary documenting Oiwas process for the immersive installation another tease before stepping into the space. We see Oiwa speedily working through timelapse, hand-drawing the Dreams landscape on a nylon, inflatable dome with black Sharpie. It took Oiwa two weeks to complete the drawing.

The gallery director describes Oiwas dome as Yayoi Kusama meets Keith Haring meets Salvador Dali, but none of these comparisons feel quite right. Dreams of a Sleeping World doesnt use optical illusions to create an infinite space, and his surreal landscapes painted in black ink are simultaneously too detailed to echo Haring and too minimal to match Dali.

If any comparisons make sense, Oiwas style immediately brought to mind Googles DeepDream, a program powered by a neural network that picks up patterns in images pixels that might resemble a human face or a dogs tail, for example and repeatedly processes them until they have been distorted and amplified in surreal, sometimes nightmarish, ways. Oiwas landscape is far too tranquil to be mistaken for the softwares creation, but his line work warps into natural elements quite often. A recurring pattern of rippling, oblique circles resemble hundreds of eyeballs that follow you through the dream space; rabbits emerge from black voids, plant life springs out of stippled marks, and reptilian creatures emerge from hatched lines. The ornate, decorative patterns conjure Art Nouveau illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley and Harry Clarke, but Dreams distinctly belongs to Oiwa.

The biggest pitfall of Dreams, however, is how easy it is to be pulled out of the experience. Its easy to spot the stitching that runs through the inflatable dome, and the air machine that keeps it afloat roars loudly. Another issue is the lighting, much of which comes from natural light, that shifts and casts shadows, distinguishing the floor from the walls and breaking up any illusion of being in a void. I was constantly aware that I was inside a manufactured experience.

Part of what has made experiential art so successful is that it hides its scaffolding. The dark Infinity Room makes the mirrors less obvious, and the Museum of Illusions rents out an entire warehouse, hires interior designers, and makes you believe that the pop-up has always been a permanent fixture. Some will find Oiwas scrappiness part of the charm, even refreshing from such overproduced spaces; I thought I would favor it, instead, I was too anchored in reality.

Oscar Oiwa: Dreams of a Sleeping World continues at the USC Pacific Asia Museum (46 N Los Robles Ave, Pasadena) through April 26.

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A 360 Installation Can Transport You to a Dreamy, Black-and-White Universe - Hyperallergic

If it's time to install a new heating system in your home, you might consider baseboard heaters. While they aren't the most efficient options on the market, they're affordable to install and make it easy to control the climate in your homea must in a mid-Atlantic state like Maryland.

When most hear baseboard, they think of electric baseboard heaters, which heat a house room by room. There is, however, a second option: hot water baseboard heaters, or hydronic baseboard heaters. These systems use central heating that channels hot water through pipes to baseboard heating units throughout your home. If you're looking to install a new heating system in your home, read on to learn how these two options work.

Electric Baseboard Heaters

This popular system uses electric resistance to provide baseboard heating in individual rooms. Cables inside the unit warm the air and push it outward. Meanwhile, cold air enters the bottom of the unit to be warmed. Homes with baseboard heating will have thermostats in each room.

Overall, electric baseboard heaters are less efficient than most central heating systems. However, this room-by-room control allows homeowners to only heat certain zones as needed to make up for that efficiency. Plus, they require no expensive duct work, so the initial installation won't cost an arm and a leg.

Hot Water Baseboard Heaters

Unlike electric baseboard systems, hot water heaters work from one central system. A boiler heats water and sends it through pipes from heater to heater. These systems tend to be more efficient than most alternatives. Installation can range in price, depending on your home. A low-end installation will mean units further away from the boiler get less heat. To avoid this problem, you'll need to install flow control valves, which can be adjusted so smaller rooms receive less heat than larger ones.

Other Considerations

Baseboard heating, while not unsightly, is visible in your interior design. Take care not to hang curtains or other wall hangings too close to your heater.

Additionally, another option for hydronic heating is to be used with radiant heat systems, where heating pipes run under the floor. But unlike baseboard heating, this will require an invasive, expensive installation. And, many homes don't have the right kind of flooring to make this probable. If you're considering a new heating system, meet with a professional contractor to talk about the most affordable, efficient and safe system for your home.

HomeAdvisor is a Patch promotional partner.

Read more from the original source:
Maryland Homeowners: Install Baseboard Heating This Winter - Patch.com

This weeks house is a farmhouse built in 1825 and recently renovated to reflect current trends. The house, at 200 Moe Road, Clifton Park, is just less than 3,000 square feet and has three bedrooms and three full bathrooms. The current owners bought the property for $160,000 in 2018 and overhauled the interior.

Before and after pictures of the bathroom off the kitchen.

They took down walls on the first floor to create an open layout and a laundry room. They made changes upstairs as well to create a better master bedroom arrangement. All three bathrooms were gutted and rebuilt. The flooring downstairs were either replaced or refinished. New carpet was installed on the second floor and the owners also installed new electrical and plumbing throughout the house. There are two gas fireplaces and a three-car garage. Other highlights include an enclosed porch, back deck and two-plus-acre lot. Shenendehowa schools. Taxes: $6,280. List price: $419,000. Listing agent Nicole Fettuccia of B&L Property Group will host an open house from 12 to 2 p.m. Sunday. Contact her at 518-888-6907.

Photos here. Listing here.

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House of the Week: Modernized farmhouse in Clifton Park - Albany Times Union

Chances are, you don't put too much thought into your heating system here in Georgia. But even in mild climates such as ours, you may need to upgrade to a new system eventually. If so, baseboard heating is a popular option that's also affordable to install.

When most hear baseboard, they think of electric baseboard heaters, which heat a house by individual room. There is, however, a second option: hot water baseboard heaters, or hydronic baseboard heaters. These systems use central heating that channels hot water through pipes to baseboard heating units throughout your home. If you're looking to install a new heating system in your home, read on to learn how these two options work.

Electric Baseboard Heaters

This popular system uses electric resistance to provide baseboard heating in individual rooms. Cables inside the unit warm the air and push it outward. Meanwhile, cold air enters the bottom of the unit to be warmed. Homes with baseboard heating will have thermostats in each room.

Overall, electric baseboard heaters are less efficient than most central heating systems. However, this room-by-room control allows homeowners to only heat certain zones as needed to make up for that efficiency. Plus, they require no expensive duct work, so the initial installation won't cost an arm and a leg.

Hot Water Baseboard Heaters

Unlike electric baseboard systems, hot water heaters work from one central system. A boiler heats water and sends it through pipes from heater to heater. These systems tend to be more efficient than most alternatives. Installation can range in price, depending on your home. A low-end installation will mean units further away from the boiler get less heat. To avoid this problem, you'll need to install flow control valves, which can be adjusted so smaller rooms receive less heat than larger ones.

Other Considerations

Baseboard heating, while not unsightly, is visible in your interior design. Take care not to hang curtains or other wall hangings too close to your heater.

Additionally, another option for hydronic heating is to combine it with a radiant heat systems, where heating pipes run under the floor. But unlike baseboard heating, this will require an invasive, expensive installation. And, many homes don't have the right kind of flooring to make this probable. If you're considering a new heating system, meet with a professional contractor to talk about the most affordable, efficient and safe system for your home.

HomeAdvisor is a Patch promotional partner.

More here:
Heres Why Baseboard Heating Is A Popular Option In Georgia - Patch.com

Chances are, you don't want to rip up your home to install a new heating system here in Texaswhere it won't get much work. But what about baseboard heating? It's a unique heating option that is easy and affordable to install.

There are actually two different kinds of options of baseboard heating. The most popular is baseboard, which heats a house by individual room. There is, however, a second option: hot water baseboard heaters, or hydronic baseboard heaters. These systems use central heating that channels hot water through pipes to baseboard heating units throughout your home. If you're looking to install a new heating system in your home, read on to learn how these two options work.

Electric Baseboard Heaters

This popular system uses electric resistance to provide baseboard heating in individual rooms. Cables inside the unit warm the air and push it outward. Meanwhile, cold air enters the bottom of the unit to be warmed. Homes with baseboard heating will have thermostats in each room.

Overall, electric baseboard heaters are less efficient than most central heating systems. However, this room-by-room control allows homeowners to only heat certain zones as needed to make up for that efficiency. Plus, they require no expensive duct work, so the initial installation won't cost an arm and a leg.

Hot Water Baseboard Heaters

Unlike electric baseboard systems, hot water heaters work from one central system. A boiler heats water and sends it through pipes from heater to heater. These systems tend to be more efficient than most alternatives. Installation can range in price, depending on your home. A low-end installation will mean units further away from the boiler get less heat. To avoid this problem, you'll need to install flow control valves, which can be adjusted so smaller rooms receive less heat than larger ones.

Other Considerations

Baseboard heating, while not unsightly, is visible in your interior design. Take care not to hang curtains or other wall hangings too close to your heater.

Additionally, another option for hydronic heating is to be used with radiant heat systems, where heating pipes run under the floor. But unlike baseboard heating, this will require an invasive, expensive installation. And, many homes don't have the right kind of flooring to make this probable. If you're considering a new heating system, meet with a professional contractor to talk about the most affordable, efficient and safe system for your home.

HomeAdvisor is a Patch promotional partner

Read the original post:
Heres Why Baseboard Heating Is A Smart Option In Texas - Patch.com

Winter is in full swing in Ohio, and our heaters have been working overtime. If you're due for an upgrade, consider using a baseboard system. While it isn't always the most efficient heating option, it has some key advantages for your home.

When most hear baseboard, they think of electric baseboard heaters, which heat a house room by room. There is, however, a second option: hot water baseboard heaters, or hydronic baseboard heaters. These systems use central heating that channels hot water through pipes to baseboard heating units throughout your home. If you're looking to install a new heating system in your home, read on to learn how these two options work.

Electric Baseboard Heaters

This popular system uses electric resistance to provide baseboard heating in individual rooms. Cables inside the unit warm the air and push it outward. Meanwhile, cold air enters the bottom of the unit to be warmed. Homes with baseboard heating will have thermostats in each room.

Overall, electric baseboard heaters are less efficient than most central heating systems. However, this room-by-room control allows homeowners to only heat certain zones as needed to make up for that efficiency. Plus, they require no expensive duct work, so the initial installation won't cost an arm and a leg.

Hot Water Baseboard Heaters

Unlike electric baseboard systems, hot water heaters work from one central system. A boiler heats water and sends it through pipes from heater to heater. These systems tend to be more efficient than most alternatives. Installation can range in price, depending on your home. A low-end installation will mean units further away from the boiler get less heat. To avoid this problem, you'll need to install flow control valves, which can be adjusted so smaller rooms receive less heat than larger ones.

Other Considerations

Baseboard heating, while not unsightly, is visible in your interior design. Take care not to hang curtains or other wall hangings too close to your heater.

Additionally, another option for hydronic heating is to be used with radiant heat systems, where heating pipes run under the floor. But unlike baseboard heating, this will require an invasive, expensive installation. And, many homes don't have the right kind of flooring to make this probable. If you're considering a new heating system, meet with a professional contractor to talk about the most affordable, efficient and safe system for your home.

HomeAdvisor is a Patch promotional partner.

More here:
Heres Why Baseboard Heating Can Be A Smart Option In Ohio - Patch.com

Would provide financial support to institutions to develop training programs...

Congressman Bill Keating

Washington, DC On Wednesday, the House Natural Resources Committee advanced H.R. 3068, The Offshore Wind Jobs and Opportunity Act out of committee. This important piece of legislation, which was authored by Congressman Bill Keating and cosponsored by Congressman Joe Kennedy III, would provide financial support for educational institutions to develop and implement curriculum and training programs that support the creation of a workforce trained for the offshore wind industry.

H.R. 3068 would authorize $25 million dollars annually to eligible institutions including universities, community colleges, and union training programs to ensure that American workers stand ready to take these jobs of the future and to further prepare our workforce to participate in the burgeoning blue economy beyond the installation of wind.

Southeastern Massachusetts is one of the countrys preeminent hubs of the blue economy, said Congressman Keating. And, there are already important programs being launched to develop the workforce needed for the offshore wind industry. In my home town of Bourne, the unveiling of the first in the nation Offshore Wind Training Facility at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy put a unique piece of training infrastructure that will allow students a place to train on the specific safety procedures required by the industry. On Marthas Vineyard, an innovative partnership between Bristol Community College, Adult Education Marthas Vineyard, and Vineyard Power is about to launch a course of study to provide high school students, as well as continuing learners, with the opportunity to obtain college credit and job training for the offshore wind industry while on the island. Our community is setting the stage for the rest of the country as we look to a sustainable energy future in the offshore wind sector. The Offshore Wind Jobs and Opportunity Act aims to support and expand these programs here at home in Massachusetts, and to create opportunities for coastal communities across the nation to develop their own workforce as offshore wind projects advance.

Offshore wind energy wont only bring clean, affordable energy to our homes and businesses, it will create jobs and empower local economies throughout New England and across our country, said Congressman Joe Kennedy. As this emerging industry continues to grow, we must ensure American workers are prepared to capitalize on this economic opportunity with good jobs, worker protections and the strength and support of labor unions. With the Natural Resources Committees passage of the Offshore Wind Jobs and Opportunity Act, we are moving closer to building a Blue Economy that will lift up working families.

Read the original post:
Keating, Kennedy Offshore Wind Jobs Act Advances to House Floor - Cape Cod Today

January 14, 2020 Jesper Just on recoding the body in his new video installation, Corporealits

Jesper Just distorts rituals of movement through video and performancetwo media he pairs in perverse combinations to destabilize museum architecture and to createplangent moving images that echo with anticipation and longing. His multichannel video workServitudesshot in 2015 at One World Trade Center on the occasion ofhis solo exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo in Parisbrims with a restrained yet intense kineticism as its two mobility-limited protagonists internalize the skyscrapers hauntedarchitecture. Last autumn and with seven performers from the American Ballet Theater, just made his newest video,Corporealits, at Perrotins New York gallery, wherethe video installation will be on displayfrom January 14, 2020, to February 15, 2020. He discusses the exhibitions genesis below.

WHEN I BEGAN TO RESEARCH THE BASEMENT of the Palais de Tokyo for my exhibition there in 2015, I discovered it contained a vacant space originally intended as a cinema theater. After one screening, it became apparent that the acoustics created an unusual echo. The venue was retired and sealed off for many years, and came to be known as The Dead Baby. I find this connection between the body and rejected architectures intriguing, as it prompts me to think about the kinds of bodies our built environment privileges. The Palais de Tokyo had a lot of mezzanines and many different floors, and, as is the case in most museums, wheelchair-bound visitors did not have the same experience as those who inhabit an environment built to accommodate their needs. I wanted to challenge the able-bodied, so everyone had to take the wheelchair ramp to view Servitudes. When I adapted the video for Lisbons Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT) last summer, we again used ramps to obstruct the staircase that abled visitors use to navigate through the galleries. This restricted them to a single route, but also paid homage to Romantic English gardens, where paths open and close to offer alternate views, creating a narrative told through movement, rather than words. Shooting the film at One World Trade Center indexed a bygone architecture, a phantom limb in the skyline. One feels a similar lack while watching the ballet dancers at the Perrotin exhibition, where their most striking facultytheir mobilityis absent. Professional ballet dancers possess highly fetishized bodies, hyper-able to achieve contortions unattainable for most of us. The set-up entailed micromanaging bodies that are capable of something extraordinary, yet, in this case, were pacified until they were activated by electric impulses. In challenging the hyper-bodys capabilities, I hope to blur how all bodies are categorized and differentially valued.

When the Royal Danish Ballet invited me to collaborate on a performance called Interpassivities in 2017, I hadnt worked with dancers before, and I started to think about how to erase choreography. In Corporealits, we hacked the TENS unit, an electrical nerve-stimulation device commonly used by dancers to relieve muscle pain, and connected it to a MIDI keyboard version of Faurs Romantic pavane Op. 50, which was programmed to send electrical currents to the dancers muscles with electrode pads.

At Perrotin, fragmented images of these bodies are dispersed on five LED screens, including one that lies on the floor, creating a sense of spatial immersion. Each display plays a certain number of notes from Op. 50 that accumulate in a symphonic surround, while the fractured images align but never reveal a dancers complete posture. This distortion gives the film a disjointed physicality, and freestanding LED screenswhich use the same technology as Times Square billboardsoffer a different sensation than projection. Because the image comes from the light source, their internal mechanics are integrated into the spectacle. The circuits connecting to the dancers bodies in the videos find their counterpart in the cables connecting the LED panels in the gallery space. This adds a sculptural layer to moving-image work that projection cannot achieve. Video exhibitions generally try to erase the spacethe audience is confined to a black box. My effort to break from this limited mode of spectatorship has, over the years, resulted in the distortion of my films through architecture, most recently at MAAT, where Servitudes was projected across various surfaces of the museum.

Corporealits is a loop without a backstory or conclusion. This subverts the imperatives of narrative cinema, which tend to view uncertainty as alarming. Art has potential to remain enigmatic. The stories ballet tells are typically strictly gendered, but visual fragmentation helps erase body paradigms. Theres also a sexual tension that is left fluid, as ambiguous, perhaps, as a soft electrical current suddenly felt on the skin. The dancers emotions and motivations are unresolved as they sit in passive, deadpan postures. I want these poses to conjure what Robert Pfaller and Slavoj iek have called interpassivity, or the potential within immobility. There is a paradox in how we are interactive today: We live in a full-speed world in which we are constantly tranquilized by technology. There are expectations about movement and choreography attached to the bodies of professional dancers, but Im interested in puncturing those expectations, as well as social conventions.

As told to Osman Can Yerebakan

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Jesper Just on recoding the body in his new video installation, Corporealits - Artforum