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Ecolibrium III

David Kim

Cultivated over the course of nearly three years, Ecolibrium III's aquarium ecosystem has been carefully balanced with a selection of over twenty interdependent species, some of which span over a dozen generations. Waste is filtered out of the ecosystem by the hanging hydroponics and nourishes plants known for their air purifying properties. As such, people within the installation space are implicitly engaged with a teeming ecological micro-terrain.

Fish

  • Microdevario kubotai (Dwarf Green Neon)
  • Danio margaritatus (Celestial Pearl Danio)
  • Pangio kuhlii (Dwarf Kuhli Eel Loach)
  • Otocinclus macrospilus (Dwarf Algae Catfish)

Invertebrates

  • Neocaridina heteropoda (Dwarf Cherry Shrimp)
  • Melanoides tuberculatus (Malaysian Trumpet Snail)
  • Pomacea canaliculata (Blue Mystery Snail)
  • Neritina natalensis (Zebra Nerite Snail)

Microorganisms/Other

  • Nitrobacter bacteria
  • nematodes
  • microworms

Epiphytic Plants

  • Epipremnum aureum (Devil’s Ivy)

Aquatic Plants

  • Ludwigia repens (Creeping Primrose Willow)
  • Anubias barteri var. nana (Dwarf Anubias)
  • Nymphoides aquatica (Banana Lily)
  • Aegagropila linnaei (Marimo Moss Ball)
  • Spirodela polyrhiza (Giant Duckweed)
  • Microsorum pteropus (Java Fern)
  • Taxiphyllum barbieri (Java Moss)
  • various algae

Terrestrial Plants

  • Portulacaria afra (Dwarf Jade Plant)
  • Trifolium albopurpureum (Field Clover)
  • Dracaena sanderiana (Lucky Bamboo)

David Kim is Artist in Residence in Sixth College’s Culture, Art & Technology Program, 2011-2012. David orks with biological, electronic, and nontraditional media in the form of installations and interactive pieces. He draws inspiration from generative design, autopoiesis, and other recursive ecologies. As an interdisciplinary artist, scientist, and educator, David has come to realize that there is little substantive distinction between art and science, and that his practice is most successful when it simultaneously engages all these catalytic elements. His work often draws upon the biological sciences, recently through the cultivation of self-sustaining aquarium ecosystems that nourish interactive aquaponic/hydroponic installations. His present artistic and research concerns lay within ecological sustainability, eco-romanticism, and the commoditization of the natural environment.