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In 2015, creative and campaigner Gustav Metzger embarked on one of his last major projects. Known for introducing art that erases itself, Metzger had spent a lifetime to confronting societal issues from anti-nuclear advocacy to ethical eating. Via a concise video message, he issued a call for a global day of action to honor the environment.

“I, Gustav Metzger, am asking for your engagement in this global appeal for a day of action to reflect on the environment on 4 November 2015,” he declared, encouraging artists and creatives to oppose the steady eradication of flora and fauna. “Our task is to remind people of the diversity and intricacy in nature … and by doing so creativity will explore territories that are naturally imaginative.”

The Inception of Nature Remembrance

In this way Remember Nature came into being, a day when cultural practitioners throughout Britain developed works to the unfolding climate catastrophe. An organizer, who supported Metzger in his later life, notes his sense of urgency. “He had a strong sense of urgency for him at the end of his life,” she says. “I just said – we must act now. We shouldn’t hold back for funding or for anyone to authorize this. Take action immediately.”

Ten Years On

A decade on, Remember Nature hasn’t quite incited the mass movement across the arts that Metzger had dreamed of, but supporters think its influence can still be observed in initiatives like artist-led declarations and Extinction Rebellion, as well as in how artists approach the eco-friendliness of their work. For this purpose she is reviving it to celebrate its 10-year anniversary. Among the 18 lead artists participating now are Cornelia Parker and other notable figures. All participants have designed posters, made video appeals, and produced installations set to be revealed on the fourth of November next year.

Sowing Change

Interviewing one participant, she is out in a field in a rural area, helping plant apple trees that will grow to form a coiled garden. Working with schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and somewhat instructive. She describes, the planning and planting sessions have already included learning about mathematics (spacing the gaps in the orchard), biology (exploring the hereditary traits), and origins (researching the stories of how various cultivars came to the UK).

A lot of the apples were picked because they’ve got funny names such as the Bloody Butcher. We have one apple that produces red juice

“Several the apples were chosen because they’ve got funny names such as the Duck’s Bill,” she explains. “We have one apple that produces red juice. They all have stories behind them. The historical cultivar was introduced by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that fell from a tree and hit the scientist’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more consciously engaged of the environment and the power we have over it. “For a lot of them, apples were just things you buy from a supermarket, so I was prompting them, next time they were out, to check the packaging and see their names and the source. Perhaps it indicates Kent!”

Cultural Projects Across the Country

In London, a participant’s project on disappearance will engage visitors exploring an art institution on a journey to find the frozen formations that have been vanished in modern times. Every ice sheet will be depicted on the gallery’s windows and walls using ultraviolet markers. Each discovery, a alert will occur and a recitation will be performed to honor that specific ice mass.

At the same time, up in a northern town, Maddi Nicholson will be hosting a free exhibition about our disconnection from the land, as well as holding a shared meal, cooked from regional food. In another city, Uta Kögelsberger is streaming her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which regional performers embark on a mission to perform for vegetation in a green space.

Young Insights

Like Gallaccio, a featured creator will be working with schoolchildren – on the actual event she is aiming to fill an art space in kids’ letters and drawings that capture their aspirations and concerns for the tomorrow. “Youthful expressions are powerful because they’re not as inhibited as mature perspectives,” she says in her recorded message. “Young people’s input to the world is something quite unique and hopefully it will inspire a feeling of duty from us all. Youth is pure. They have concerns for tomorrow. But it isn’t meant to be about fear – it should be about positivity and our responsibility that they see a better world.”

Tributes and Thoughts

Another artist’s work also appeals to children. With a background in performance, his Birds Can Fly involves sketching winged creatures and then performing as birds – and for Remember Nature day he is planning to tackle an iconic figure. He is also conducting a guided walk of the city, visiting various sites that have been part of his Pansy Project over the past twenty years. That ongoing series commenced following he faced multiple occurrences of prejudice on a single day. As a reaction, Harfleet decided to place a bloom at the location of every incident and record it – the project has since spiralled to incorporate experiences reported by other people across the world. “I leave the pansies there but they fade quickly,” says Harfleet. “It seems pigeons like to eat them, so they’re a ephemeral memorial.”

The artist selected the bloom not just for the obvious reason – it has long been a term of homophobic abuse – but also because its origin is the French verb, penser, to think. “It was linked to a man who is contemplative, and that, of course, is a negative trait,” he says.

The intention on the event day is to place blooms at fresh spots and also refresh the memorials in places he has marked earlier, all the while talking to those on the itinerant journey about the occurrences and his personal experiences. “I’ve recorded quite a few after my previous work,” he says mournfully.

Moving Forward with Hope

He desires his work – and