In 2015, artist and activist Gustav Metzger embarked on one of his final important works. Recognized for introducing auto-destructive art, Metzger had devoted his career to confronting societal issues from nuclear disarmament to plant-based living. Through a short video message, he issued a call for a global day of action to celebrate the natural world.
“I call upon you for your engagement in this international summons for a day of action to remember nature on the fourth of November, 2015,” he stated, inviting artists and creatives to stand against the steady eradication of living beings. “Our task is to help the public recall of the abundance and sophistication in nature … and by doing so creativity will explore domains that are inherently creative.”
In this way the Nature Remembrance initiative was born, a day when artists across the country developed works to the ongoing environmental crisis. An organizer, who supported Metzger in his later life, notes his sense of urgency. “He had a profound sense of urgency for him at the end of his life,” she says. “My advice was – we must act now. No need to pause for funding or for anyone to green light this. Take action immediately.”
Ten years later, the project did not sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had dreamed of, but supporters think its impact can still be observed in campaigns like cultural advocacy groups and Extinction Rebellion, as well as in how creatives consider the sustainability of their methods. This is the reason she is restaging it to commemorate its ten-year mark. Among the featured creators involved this time are Cornelia Parker and Anya Gallaccio. They have all produced imagery, shared messages, and produced installations set to be presented on November 4, 2025.
When speaking to one participant, she is out in a field in the countryside, cultivating apple trees that will develop into a circular grove. Engaging schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and part learning experience. She describes, the design and cultivation sessions have already involved learning about measurements (spacing the planting intervals), science (discussing the genetic makeup), and history (tracing the journeys of how distinct varieties arrived in Britain).
Many of the apples were selected because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Bloody Butcher. We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ scarcolored sap
“A lot of the apples were picked because they’ve got funny names such as the Duck’s Bill,” says Gallaccio. “We have one apple that releases scarlet-colored sap. Every one carries histories attached. The historical cultivar was introduced by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that descended from a tree and hit Isaac Newton’s head.”
The artist aimed the children to be more consciously engaged of the natural world and the influence we have over it. “In their experience, apples were just things you get at a supermarket, so I was prompting them, next time they were out, to read the label and see what they’re called and where they were grown. Hopefully it says Kent!”
In London, Youngsook Choi’s Book of Loss will include attendees searching Tate Modern on a mission to find the ice masses that have been lost in modern times. Every ice sheet will be illustrated on the museum surfaces using invisible ink. Each discovery, a bell will ring and a reading will be performed to commemorate that individual formation.
Elsewhere, up in Barrow-in-Furness, an artist will be hosting a free exhibition about our alienation from the environment, as well as organizing a shared meal, prepared with regional food. Further north, a participant is sharing her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which regional performers begin a project to use music to heal flora in a green space.
Similar to other artists, Cornelia Parker will be engaging schoolchildren – on the scheduled date she is hoping to decorate Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in youth creations that capture their hopes and fears for the years ahead. “Youthful expressions are powerful because they’re not as trammelled as adults’,” she says in her public appeal. “The contributions of youth to the world is something truly special and hopefully it will provoke a sense of responsibility from us all. Youth is pure. They have anxieties about what’s next. But let’s not make it about worry – it should be about optimism and us ensuring that they get a future.”
Another artist’s work also connects with children. As a former drag queen, his avian project involves sketching winged creatures and then embodying them – and for the initiative he is planning to tackle an iconic figure. He is also staging a itinerant journey of the city, stopping at places that have been part of his long-term work over the last two decades. That ongoing series commenced following he endured three incidents of prejudice on a particular day. In response, Harfleet decided to place a bloom at the location of every incident and photograph it – the project has since grown to incorporate experiences experienced by other people across the world. “The flowers remain there but they don’t often last,” says Harfleet. “Reportedly wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a very temporary memorial.”
He picked the flower not just for the direct association – it has long been a derogatory label – but also because its origin is the French verb, penser, to think. “People connected it with a man who is contemplative, and that, of course, is a terrible thing,” he says.
The plan on Remember Nature day is to sow flowers at additional sites and also refresh the memorials in places he has previously memorialised, all the while talking to those on the guided walk about the incidents and his recollections. “I’ve recorded quite a few since I last planted,” he says with regret.
The artist wishes his work – and
