This is a piece I did back in college. At the time, they had very little gallery space for students. Most of the year it was limited to two boards in a tiny hall (see the last two pictures). Once a year, the school held an event called OPUS. It was a time to celebrate the work of students. During this time, they also opened up the gallery they had in the library to students (it was usually reserved for traveling exhibits by professional artists).
I was really interested in Jackson Pollock and abstract expressionism, which was dominated by men. So I took a medium that tends to be more associated with women (yarn and embroidery floss) and used it to create abstract expressionist pieces. I called them yarn pollocks. Similarly to Jackson Pollock, I would work on large-scale pieces spread out on the floor. I would drench the fibers in liquid starch and throw, drop, and drizzle the fibers to create a piece.
I wanted to draw attention to our lack of space for students to display their work. The original idea was to have the fibers extend beyond the boards and spread itself through the hall into more noticeable spaces. Although the school approved the piece, the fire department did not, and they restricted me to the boards, further emphasizing the restrictions of the space. Since it was also around OPUS, the school let me move some of it into the library gallery. So I strung it in various areas throughout the gallery, calling attention to the physical space.