Artists Take a Stand Against the Planetary Crisis: Planting the Fruit That Dropped on Newton's Head

Back in 2015, artist and activist Gustav Metzger initiated one of his last important works. Famed for pioneering self-destructive creations, Metzger had devoted his career to addressing global challenges from peace activism to plant-based living. Via a concise video message, he issued a call for a international event to honor the environment.

“I, Gustav Metzger, am asking for your participation in this global appeal for a day of action to reflect on the environment on the fourth of November, 2015,” he announced, urging cultural workers to stand against the ongoing loss of species. “Our task is to make audiences aware of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so creativity will explore domains that are naturally imaginative.”

The Creation of Nature Remembrance

And so Remember Nature was born, a day when artists across the country produced pieces to the escalating planetary emergency. An organizer, who worked closely with Metzger in his final years, remembers his drive for action. “He had a profound sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “I just said – don’t delay. Let’s not wait for funding or for anyone to authorize this. Let’s just do it.”

A Decade Later

Ten years later, the initiative may not have incited the mass movement across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but Joelson believes its impact can still be felt in initiatives like Culture Declares and climate activism networks, as well as in how makers handle the sustainability of their practices. For this purpose she is restaging it to commemorate its 10-year anniversary. Part of the featured creators participating now are A Man Called Adam and other notable figures. All participants have produced imagery, made video appeals, and created artworks set to be unveiled on November 4, 2025.

Sowing Change

In conversation with one participant, she is on site in the countryside, helping plant apple trees that will develop into a circular grove. Working with schoolchildren, her project is half artwork and somewhat instructive. According to her, the design and cultivation sessions have already involved learning about maths (calculating the gaps in the orchard), genetics (studying the apple’s DNA), and history (mapping the backgrounds of how different apples came to the UK).

A lot of the apples were chosen because they’ve got humorous titles such as the other unusual varieties. We have one apple that produces red juice

“Many of the apples were chosen because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Duck’s Bill,” the artist notes. “We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ red juice. They all have histories attached. The historical cultivar was brought over by the Romans. The Kentish variety is the apple that fell from a tree and hit Isaac Newton’s head.”

Gallaccio wanted the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the natural world 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, on their next shopping trip, to check the packaging and see their names and where they were grown. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Cultural Projects Nationwide

At the capital, one artist’s Book of Loss will involve participants looking through Tate Modern on a mission to find the ice masses that have been vanished in recent years. All formations will be illustrated on the gallery’s windows and walls using special pens. When located, a chime will sound and a performance will be held to commemorate that particular glacier.

Elsewhere, up in a northern town, an artist will be presenting a open display about our separation from nature, as well as hosting a communal feast, made using sustainable ingredients. Over in Newcastle, Uta Kögelsberger is streaming her environmental performance, in which community vocalists embark on a mission to sing plants back to health in a green space.

Children’s Voices

Like Gallaccio, Cornelia Parker will be collaborating with schoolchildren – on the scheduled date she is planning to decorate Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in kids’ letters and drawings that document their aspirations and concerns for the years ahead. “Children’s words and images are powerful because they’re not as trammelled as mature perspectives,” she says in her call to action video. “Young people’s input to the world is something distinctive and perhaps it can inspire a awareness of obligation from each person. Youth is pure. They have anxieties about what’s next. But let’s not make it about anxiety – it should be about positivity and our responsibility that they get a future.”

Remembrance and Reflection

Another artist’s work also resonates for children. With a background in performance, his Birds Can Fly involves illustrating avians and then dressing up as them – and for the event he is aiming to represent a local symbol. He is also organizing a guided walk of the city, stopping at places that have been part of his Pansy Project over the last two decades. This endeavor began when he faced three incidents of prejudice on a single day. To counter this, Harfleet decided to place a bloom at the spot where it happened and record 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.”

The artist selected the bloom not just for the direct association – it has long been a slur – but also because its etymology comes from the French verb, penser, to think. “It became associated with a man who is reflective, and that, of course, is a negative trait,” he says.

The intention on 4 November is to place blooms at additional sites and also refresh the memorials in places he has previously memorialised, all the while conversing with those on the walking tour about the incidents and his memories of them. “We’ve seen quite a few after my previous work,” he says with regret.

Progressing Optimistically

The artist wishes his work – and