Ecological Strangers is an interactive artwork by Min Kim that invites visitors and passers-by to reflect on the relationship between productivity, technology and the natural world. Shown 24/7 on the corner screen in Soho Photography Quarter right outside The Photographers’ Gallery, the work questions how we engage with nature and wildlife in urban environments.
Ecological Strangers was originally created as an interactive browser extension by Kim in 2022 to disrupt the relentless demands of technologically enforced productivity culture. Through pop-ups and soundscapes of natural wildlife (including birds and plants), the extension urged users to confront "species loneliness"— our growing disconnection from the natural world—and redirect our attention to the spaces around us.
Behind the pop-ups, visitors can engage in the user-generated data that underlies the project, drawing on the increasing interest in nature recognition apps, such as iNaturalist and Merlin. These apps have helped people become more connected to nature while also building scientific research models of species sightings around the world.
These pop-ups also draw on an erotic visual language, linking natural species to sex work. For Min Kim, by exploring their shared status as "ecological strangers", they are “strangers whom we tend to ignore, and yet they are always available to interact with us nearby”.
This iteration reimagines Ecological Strangers in the public setting of Soho Photography Quarter, inviting us to rethink how we allocate our attention and create spaces for ecological awareness.
About Min Kim
Min Kim (b. 1996, Busan, South Korea) is a multidisciplinary artist and designer based in London. She graduated from Central Saint Martins with a BA in Graphic Communication Design in 2022. In her work, she plays at the intersection of nature and technology, often speculating on how we can coexist in harmony. She is also a publisher of Playbot Magazine, the first entertainment magazine made by machines for machines.
The browser extension and web project are available to view at ecologicalstrangers.dating
The corner screen at The Photographers' Gallery showcases experimental work by artists working critically across photography and advanced technologies, include XR and AI. Previous projects have included Huntress Janos, Entangled Others, Jessica Wilson and Yaloo.
