The floor is the most touched surface, in both interior and exterior space, but also it can be the most overlooked and often least inspiring of surfaces. In exploring surface pattern and texture, Florence hoped to challenge the physical nature of flooring as space, questioning where it begins and ends. Traditional decoration, such as skirting boards and dado rails delineate wall from floor, they anchor the floor and, in a sense, ‘hold it down’. The aim was to liberate the flooring from this weight, and give it a different life.

The original inspiration for the work on ‘sugar floors’ came from traditional tea dances; the use of icing sugar is intended to recall these dances as the scent of the sugar permeates the air when disturbed. Florence studied ‘tracking’ in the commercial and industrial flooring sectors where patterns are designed in order to mask everyday wear and tear. In this work the tracking is emphasised by the marks made by feet as they move over the floors, focusing attention on a surface that is often ignored. The pattern evolves as the participants engage with the installation. In ‘Sugar Dance’, the steps of a traditional Viennese waltz are traced by professional dancers onto the floor. The repetitive nature of the dance reveals the physical footprint of the waltz. The work was commissioned by the Crafts Council and Victoria and Albert Museum London.

To date, there have been Sugar Dances in London, Berlin, New York and Lithuania. Each floor has been created in response to the particular qualities of the location.