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During 2015, artist and activist Gustav Metzger launched one of his last major projects. Recognized for creating art that erases itself, Metzger had devoted his career to addressing human struggles from nuclear disarmament to ethical eating. In a brief video message, he requested support for a international event to honor the environment.

“I call upon you for your engagement in this worldwide call for a day of action to commemorate our planet on 4 November 2015,” he declared, encouraging artists and creatives to stand against the steady eradication of living beings. “Our task is to remind people of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so art will enter territories that are naturally imaginative.”

The Birth of Remember Nature

Thus the Nature Remembrance initiative came into being, a day when cultural practitioners throughout Britain produced pieces to the escalating planetary emergency. One of the curators, who cared for Metzger in his last days, recalls his sense of urgency. “He had a great sense of urgency for him at the close of his days,” she says. “I urged him – we must act now. We shouldn’t hold back for financial support or for anyone to approve this. Take action immediately.”

Ten Years On

Ten years later, the initiative hasn’t quite triggered the broad uprising across the arts that Metzger had envisioned, but Joelson believes its influence can still be observed in initiatives like cultural advocacy groups and environmental protests, as well as in how creatives consider the eco-friendliness of their work. That’s why she is reviving it to commemorate its decade milestone. Included in the 18 lead artists taking part currently are Cornelia Parker and Anya Gallaccio. Each has produced imagery, recorded calls to action, and developed pieces set to be revealed on the fourth of November next year.

Planting Hope

When speaking to one participant, she is working outdoors in the countryside, assisting with planting apple trees that will grow to form a spiral-shaped orchard. Collaborating with schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and part learning experience. She describes, the planning and planting sessions have already incorporated learning about mathematics (calculating the planting intervals), science (discussing the apple’s DNA), and geography (mapping the journeys of how different apples were introduced to England).

Many of the apples were picked because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Bloody Butcher. We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ scarcolored sap

“Several the apples were chosen because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Bloody Butcher,” she explains. “We have one apple that produces red juice. Each has stories behind them. The ancient variety was introduced by the Romans. The Kentish variety is the apple that fell from a tree and struck Isaac Newton’s head.”

Gallaccio wanted the children to be more thoughtfully connected of nature and the influence we have over it. “In their experience, apples were just things you buy from a supermarket, so I was encouraging them, on their next shopping trip, to look on the bag and see the variety and the source. Perhaps it indicates Kent!”

Artistic Responses Throughout Britain

In London, Youngsook Choi’s work about extinction will include attendees looking through an art institution on a journey to find the ice masses that have been disappeared in modern times. All formations will be drawn on the gallery’s windows and walls using ultraviolet markers. When located, a chime will sound and a recitation will be conducted to honor that specific ice mass.

Meanwhile, up in another location, an artist will be putting on a open display about our disconnection from the land, as well as hosting a communal feast, cooked from regional food. Over in Newcastle, an artist is sharing her environmental performance, in which regional performers embark on a mission to sing plants back to health in Newcastle’s Jesmond Dene.

Children’s Voices

Similar to other artists, Cornelia Parker will be working with schoolchildren – on the day itself she is aiming to fill Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in youth creations that express their hopes and fears for the years ahead. “Youthful expressions are compelling because they’re not as inhibited as mature perspectives,” she says in her recorded message. “Young people’s input to the world is something truly special and hopefully it will stimulate a feeling of duty from us all. Kids are unbiased. They have concerns for tomorrow. But let’s not make it about fear – it should be about hope and our responsibility that they have a tomorrow.”

Remembrance and Reflection

Another artist’s work also appeals to children. Drawing on past experience, his avian project involves drawing birds and then dressing up as them – and for Remember Nature day he is planning to address a local symbol. He is also staging a itinerant journey of the city, stopping at places that have been part of his Pansy Project over the recent decades. That ongoing series began when he experienced three incidents of prejudice on a single day. In response, Harfleet decided to plant a pansy at the site of each occurrence and document it – the project has since grown to incorporate experiences reported 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.”

Harfleet chose the bloom not just for the obvious reason – it has long been a term of homophobic abuse – but also because its etymology comes from 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 project on Remember Nature day is to place blooms at new locations and also renew the tributes in places he has marked earlier, all the while conversing with those on the walking tour about the occurrences and his recollections. “I’ve recorded quite a few since I last planted,” he says with regret.

Progressing Optimistically

The artist wishes his work – and