🔗 Share this article

During 2015, visionary and advocate Gustav Metzger embarked on one of his last major projects. Recognized for creating auto-destructive art, Metzger had devoted his career to addressing societal issues from nuclear disarmament to vegetarianism. In a brief video message, he issued a call for a international event to remember nature.

“I call upon you for your participation in this worldwide call for a day of action to reflect on the environment on November 4th, 2015,” he declared, inviting artists and creatives to resist the ongoing loss of flora and fauna. “The mission is to make audiences aware of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so art will enter domains that are fundamentally innovative.”

The Birth of Environmental Reflection

In this way the environmental art day was born, a day when creatives nationwide produced pieces to the escalating planetary emergency. An organizer, who worked closely with Metzger in his later life, recalls his sense of urgency. “I sensed a profound sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “I just said – let’s not mess around. Let’s not wait for sponsorship or for anyone to authorize this. Take action immediately.”

Ten Years On

After ten years, Remember Nature did not incited the mass movement across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but organizers feel its legacy can still be seen in campaigns like artist-led declarations and Extinction Rebellion, as well as in how artists approach the eco-friendliness of their methods. For this purpose she is reviving it to celebrate its 10-year anniversary. Among the key participants involved this time are A Man Called Adam and Anya Gallaccio. Each has designed posters, made video appeals, and produced installations set to be unveiled on the fourth of November next year.

Planting Hope

When speaking to one participant, she is working outdoors in a rural area, cultivating apple trees that will develop into a coiled garden. Engaging schoolchildren, her project is half artwork and part learning experience. As she explains, the preparation and sowing sessions have already incorporated learning about mathematics (spacing the planting intervals), science (discussing the genetic makeup), and history (researching the stories of how different apples came to the UK).

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

“Many of the apples were selected because they’ve got amusing labels such as the other unusual varieties,” the artist notes. “We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ crimson liquid. They all have background narratives. The ancient variety was introduced by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that fell from a tree and landed on Isaac Newton’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the natural world and the power we have over it. “To many of them, apples were just things you get at a supermarket, so I was prompting them, on their next shopping trip, to read the label and see the variety and where they were grown. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Creative Initiatives Throughout Britain

Within the city, a participant’s Book of Loss will involve participants searching an art institution on a quest to find the frozen formations that have been vanished in the past decade. All formations will be depicted on the gallery’s windows and walls using invisible ink. When located, a chime will sound and a performance will be conducted to commemorate that specific ice mass.

At the same time, up in another location, a creative will be hosting a open display about our alienation from the environment, as well as holding a shared meal, prepared with sustainable ingredients. Over in Newcastle, an artist is sharing her musical project, in which local singers embark on a mission to sing plants back to health in a green space.

Youth Perspectives

Following this approach, another participant will be engaging schoolchildren – on the day itself she is aiming to cover Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in youth creations that express their aspirations and concerns for the tomorrow. “Children’s words and images are impactful because they’re not as restricted as adults’,” she says in her recorded message. “Young people’s input to the world is something distinctive and it may inspire a feeling of duty from everyone. Kids are unbiased. They have fears about the future. But it isn’t meant to be about anxiety – it should be about hope and making sure that they have a tomorrow.”

Tributes and Thoughts

Paul Harfleet’s work also appeals to children. As a former drag queen, his feathered initiative involves drawing birds and then performing as birds – and for Remember Nature day he is planning to tackle Liverpool’s famous Liver bird. He is also organizing a walking tour of the city, stopping at places that have been part of his ongoing series over the past twenty years. That ongoing series began when he faced several events of discrimination on a one occasion. In response, Harfleet decided to sow a flower at the spot where it happened and photograph it – the project has since grown to include incidents reported by other people across the world. “The flowers remain there but they fade quickly,” says Harfleet. “It seems wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a short-lived memorial.”

Harfleet chose the pansy not just for the clear connection – it has long been a term of homophobic abuse – but also because its name derives from the French verb, penser, to think. “People connected it with a man who is contemplative, and that, of course, is a negative trait,” he says.

The intention on Remember Nature day is to sow flowers at new locations and also refresh the memorials in places he has honored before, all the while talking to those on the walking tour about the incidents and his recollections. “There’s been quite a few following earlier installations,” he says with regret.

Advancing Positively

He desires his work – and