June Lee

June Lee received her BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Painting and Drawing and an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Fiber. June Lee was the 2nd place recipient of the Judith Altman Award granted at Fiber Philadelphia in 2012.

June Lee's work based on social phenomena "Bystander Effect". Countless things that happen quietly in our society are cases of bystander effect that make select individuals into outcasts. "Thinking how I can become a social outcast due to the distant indifferent bystanders, I find this a serious problem that can’t be overlooked in silence". This work traces individuals becoming an outcast in a society, and how the majority or the society overlooks the individual outcast in silence. Departing from previous materials or working approach, she made small figures for this work. Taking two different postures, the figures either have their arms crossed, or have hands tied behind their back. The two postures symbolize "Bystanders", hiding their hands and saying "I have no hands to help you" and "I have nothing to do with you."

Like architectural models that present the whole overview of the buildings, June Lee makes miniature models of people to demonstrate in one view, the majority being indifferent to an individual social outcast. Rather than using fabric, she decided to use thread, wrapping each of the bystanders with different color thread. The patterns in which they are wrapped are all different, signifying the individuality of the figures.