As you walk into the art gallery in the Cultural Arts Building, it may take a moment to notice the exhibit itself. But looking up, one will notice lines of yellow monofilament stretched across the gallery in a three-dimensional creation that makes the whole room sparkle. This is “Place,” the work of UNCW Assistant Professor Andi Steele, whose work will be displayed in the gallery through April 7.

Steele teaches sculpture and 3-D design classes and has worked on similar exhibits in the past. According to Steele, she works with monofilament to artfully “divide spaces and kind of shift how you can move through them.”

“With this [exhibit], what I wanted to do was stretch the lines to make a form; to create a new place, a new space you can walk into and be, and then you can walk out of that one and move into another,” Steele said.

According to Steele, the exhibit took five days to install with the help of two assistants plus the time it took to install the bolts to hold the lines of monofilament. The lines swoop over the span of the gallery, creating a divided, “multi-room” space.

“We’re used to spaces doing a certain thing, and so when something is changed, it makes us pay more attention,” said Steele.  “This also does that, but at the same time it gives you a place to walk into.”

The opportunity for a special perception shift was welcomed by many at the exhibit’s opening lecture and reception Feb. 24.

“To me, it’s both stunning and elegant,” said Chair of Art and Art History Ann Conner. “Yellow was a bold choice, because it’s barely visible, yet it really sparkles with the environment.”

The exhibit will be open to UNCW students as well as the public Monday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m. until April 7.