Lost and Found: Artist Gives Voice to the Little Things Left Behind

With a population of more than 8 million citizens and a whopping 50 million visitors a year, it's no surprise that New York City ends up with a lot of lost stuff. (The Metropolitan Transit Authority collects and catalogs 50,000 items alone!) And for every pricey piece of jewelry or shiny iPhone that gets left behind by distracted owners, there are thousands of pieces of less-exciting things – from keychains to single gloves – that end up on the sidewalk. Rather than walk on by the ordinary objects left on the city streets, Yoonjin Lee, a graphic design student at New York's School of Visual Arts, is instead attempting to tell the stories behind how each item got from point A to B (or Midtown Manhattan to Brooklyn in some cases). In her photo and video series titled Little Lost Project, the 22-year-old draws attention to Metro Cards, lip balms, lighters, hair ties, and other long-forgotten objects by propping them up next to cardboard signs with creative messages like, “You’re gonna miss me one day” and “I’m still useful!” But just because your last attempt to basketball-toss your big slurp into a trash can failed, doesn’t mean that Lee will shoot your slops. She has to truly believe the item wasn't purposely dumped in order to photograph it. "I stumble upon many little objects on the streets but it must look like it is really lost — fell out of someone's pocket or bag,” she tells Yahoo Shine. Check out some of the other diminutive displaced items that Lee has turned into art. –– By Lauren Tuck, Shine Staff

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