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In 2015, visionary and advocate Gustav Metzger initiated one of his ultimate major projects. Famed for pioneering art that erases itself, Metzger had spent a lifetime to responding to human struggles from anti-nuclear advocacy to plant-based living. In a brief video message, he requested support for a global day of action to celebrate the natural world.

“This is my appeal for your engagement in this international summons for a day of action to reflect on the environment on 4 November 2015,” he stated, urging cultural workers to oppose the steady eradication of living beings. “The mission is to remind people of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so art will enter territories that are fundamentally innovative.”

The Inception of Remember Nature

In this way the Nature Remembrance initiative was born, a day when artists across the country created responses to the escalating planetary emergency. Jo Joelson, who worked closely with Metzger in his last days, recalls his drive for action. “I sensed a great sense of urgency for him at the close of his days,” she says. “I urged him – don’t delay. No need to pause for sponsorship or for anyone to green light this. Let’s just do it.”

Ten Years On

A decade on, the initiative did not sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had envisioned, but Joelson believes its influence can still be felt in initiatives like cultural advocacy groups and climate activism networks, as well as in how artists approach the sustainability of their work. That’s why she is reviving it to celebrate its decade milestone. Part of the key participants participating now are A Man Called Adam and other notable figures. They have all created visual art, shared messages, and created artworks set to be revealed on the fourth of November next year.

Cultivating Awareness

When speaking to the artist, she is working outdoors in the countryside, assisting with planting apple trees that will develop into a circular grove. Collaborating with schoolchildren, her project is half artwork and part learning experience. As she explains, the preparation and sowing sessions have already included learning about measurements (spacing the distances between trees), science (studying the genetic makeup), and history (researching the backgrounds of how different apples arrived in Britain).

Several the apples were selected because they’ve got humorous titles such as the other unusual varieties. We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ crimson liquid

“Several the apples were selected because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Bloody Butcher,” she explains. “We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ scarlet-colored sap. Each has background narratives. The historical cultivar was imported by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that descended from a tree and struck Isaac Newton’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more actively aware of nature and the control we have over it. “To many of them, apples were just things you get at a supermarket, so I was encouraging them, next time they were out, to check the packaging and see what they’re called and the source. Perhaps it indicates Kent!”

Creative Initiatives Across the Country

In London, Youngsook Choi’s Book of Loss will include attendees searching an art institution on a journey to find the seven major glaciers that have been disappeared in modern times. All formations will be illustrated on the museum surfaces using special pens. When located, a bell will ring and a recitation will be conducted to commemorate that individual formation.

Meanwhile, up in another location, Maddi Nicholson will be putting on a free exhibition about our separation from nature, as well as hosting a communal feast, prepared with organic, local produce. Further north, an artist is streaming her environmental performance, in which local singers embark on a mission to use music to heal flora in a green space.

Young Insights

Following this approach, Cornelia Parker will be collaborating with schoolchildren – on the scheduled date she is hoping to cover an art space in youth creations that document their aspirations and concerns for the tomorrow. “Kids’ art are impactful because they’re not as restricted as mature perspectives,” she says in her call to action video. “What children have to offer to the world is something truly special and it may stimulate a awareness of obligation from everyone. Kids are unbiased. They have fears about the future. But this shouldn’t be about anxiety – it should be about optimism and our responsibility that they get a future.”

Memorials and Memory

Another artist’s work also resonates for children. Drawing on past experience, his avian project involves illustrating avians and then dressing up as them – and for Remember Nature day he is intending to address a local symbol. He is also staging a walking tour of the city, visiting various sites that have been part of his long-term work over the last two decades. This endeavor commenced following he faced three incidents of discrimination on a single day. To counter this, Harfleet decided to sow a flower at the spot where it happened and document it – the project has since expanded to incorporate experiences experienced by other people across the world. “I leave the pansies there but they fade quickly,” says Harfleet. “Reportedly wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a ephemeral memorial.”

He picked the flower not just for the direct association – it has long been a derogatory label – but also because its etymology comes from the French verb, penser, to think. “People connected it with a man who is reflective, and that, of course, is a bad quality,” he says.

The project on Remember Nature day is to sow flowers at fresh spots and also refresh the memorials in places he has honored before, all the while conversing with those on the guided walk about the events and his personal experiences. “I’ve recorded quite a few following earlier installations,” he says with regret.

Progressing Optimistically

Harfleet hopes his work – and