Artists Fight Back In the Face of the Climate Emergency: Planting the Apple That Dropped on Newton's Head

In 2015, visionary and advocate Gustav Metzger embarked on one of his final major projects. Known for introducing auto-destructive art, Metzger had devoted his career to addressing global challenges from peace activism to vegetarianism. Through a short video message, he requested support for a worldwide initiative to honor the environment.

“I call upon you for your involvement in this worldwide call for a day of action to remember nature on November 4th, 2015,” he declared, inviting artists and creatives to oppose the ongoing loss of species. “Our responsibility is to help the public recall of the abundance and sophistication in nature … and by doing so the arts will venture into realms that are naturally imaginative.”

The Inception of Nature Remembrance

Thus the Nature Remembrance initiative was established, a day when creatives nationwide produced pieces to the ongoing environmental crisis. An organizer, who supported Metzger in his final years, remembers his drive for action. “He had a profound sense of urgency for him at the end of his life,” she says. “I just said – let’s not mess around. No need to pause for financial support or for anyone to authorize this. We should proceed.”

Ten Years On

After ten years, the project did not incited the mass movement across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but Joelson believes its impact can still be seen in movements like cultural advocacy groups and environmental protests, as well as in how creatives consider the eco-friendliness of their work. For this purpose she is reviving it to mark its decade milestone. Included in the key participants taking part currently are A Man Called Adam and other notable figures. They have all designed posters, shared messages, and produced installations set to be presented on the fourth of November next year.

Planting Hope

When speaking to Anya Gallaccio, she is on site in a rural area, assisting with planting apple trees that will develop into a circular grove. Collaborating with schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and somewhat instructive. She describes, the planning and planting sessions have already included learning about measurements (spacing the planting intervals), genetics (discussing the hereditary traits), and geography (researching the journeys of how various cultivars were introduced to England).

Several the apples were selected because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Bloody Butcher. We have one apple that produces scarcolored sap

“Several the apples were selected because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Duck’s Bill,” the artist notes. “We have one apple that produces scarlet-colored sap. Each has stories behind them. The ancient variety was introduced by the Romans. The Flower of Kent is the apple that fell from a tree and landed on the scientist’s head.”

She hoped the children to be more consciously engaged of nature and the power we have over it. “In their experience, apples were just things you get at a supermarket, so I was urging them, when they go shopping, to check the packaging and see what they’re called and their origin. Perhaps it indicates Kent!”

Artistic Responses Nationwide

In London, a participant’s work about extinction will involve participants exploring Tate Modern on a quest to find the frozen formations that have been lost in recent years. Every ice sheet will be illustrated on the gallery’s windows and walls using invisible ink. When located, a alert will occur and a reading will be held to commemorate that particular glacier.

Meanwhile, up in Barrow-in-Furness, a creative will be presenting a free exhibition about our separation from nature, as well as organizing a communal feast, cooked from sustainable ingredients. In another city, Uta Kögelsberger is broadcasting her musical project, in which local singers embark on a mission to sing plants back to health in a green space.

Young Insights

Similar to other artists, a featured creator will be working with schoolchildren – on the actual event she is planning to cover Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in children’s artwork that express their hopes and fears for the future. “Children’s words and images are powerful because they’re not as trammelled as mature perspectives,” she says in her recorded message. “What children have to offer to the world is something distinctive and it may stimulate a sense of responsibility from each person. Children are innocent. They have concerns for tomorrow. But it isn’t meant to be about anxiety – it should be about hope and making sure that they see a better world.”

Remembrance and Reflection

Paul Harfleet’s work also resonates for children. As a former drag queen, his avian project involves sketching winged creatures and then performing as birds – and for Remember Nature day he is aiming to address an iconic figure. He is also staging a guided walk of the city, exploring locations that have been part of his Pansy Project over the last two decades. This endeavor commenced following he endured three incidents of discrimination on a single day. As a reaction, Harfleet decided to sow a flower at the location of every incident and photograph it – the project has since expanded to cover events reported by other people across the world. “The flowers remain there but they fade quickly,” says Harfleet. “Reportedly birds consume them, so they’re a short-lived memorial.”

The artist selected the flower not just for the clear connection – it has long been a term of homophobic abuse – but also because its origin is the French verb, penser, to think. “People connected it with a man who is thoughtful, and that, of course, is a negative trait,” he says.

The project on the event day is to place blooms at new locations and also renew the tributes in places he has honored before, all the while discussing with those on the guided walk about the incidents and his recollections. “We’ve seen quite a few after my previous work,” he says mournfully.

Moving Forward with Hope

Harfleet hopes his work – and