Back in 2015, creative and campaigner Gustav Metzger launched one of his last major projects. Known for creating self-destructive creations, Metzger had spent a lifetime to confronting societal issues from anti-nuclear advocacy to vegetarianism. Via a concise video message, he made a plea for a worldwide initiative to honor the environment.
“I, Gustav Metzger, am asking for your involvement in this worldwide call for a day of action to remember nature on the fourth of November, 2015,” he declared, urging makers and thinkers to oppose the continuing disappearance of living beings. “Our task is to remind people of the abundance and sophistication in nature … and by doing so creativity will explore realms that are naturally imaginative.”
Thus the Nature Remembrance initiative came into being, a day when artists across the country created responses to the unfolding climate catastrophe. One of the curators, who supported Metzger in his last days, remembers his drive for action. “He had a strong sense of urgency for him at the close of his days,” she says. “My advice was – don’t delay. Let’s not wait for financial support or for anyone to approve this. Take action immediately.”
A decade on, the initiative may not have sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but Joelson believes its influence can still be felt in initiatives like Culture Declares and climate activism networks, as well as in how artists approach the eco-friendliness of their practices. That’s why she is reviving it to commemorate its ten-year mark. Included in the 18 lead artists involved this time are Yu-Chen Wang and other notable figures. They have all created visual art, made video appeals, and developed pieces set to be unveiled on the fourth of November next year.
Interviewing one participant, she is working outdoors in a rural area, helping plant apple trees that will create a spiral-shaped orchard. Working with schoolchildren, her project is half artwork and half educational workshop. According to her, the preparation and sowing sessions have already involved learning about maths (spacing the distances between trees), genetics (discussing the hereditary traits), and history (researching the journeys of how distinct varieties arrived in Britain).
Many of the apples were picked because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Duck’s Bill. We have one apple that releases crimson liquid
“A lot of the apples were chosen because they’ve got humorous titles such as the other unusual varieties,” says Gallaccio. “We have one apple that releases red juice. Every one carries background narratives. The ancient variety was brought over by the Romans. The Kentish variety is the apple that descended from a tree and landed on the physicist’s head.”
The artist aimed 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 buy from a supermarket, so I was prompting them, next time they were out, to read the label and see their names and their origin. Hopefully it says Kent!”
At the capital, one artist’s project on disappearance will engage visitors searching a major gallery on a journey to find the ice masses that have been disappeared in the past decade. Each glacier will be illustrated on the museum surfaces using special pens. When located, a alert will occur and a reading will be performed to remember that particular glacier.
Elsewhere, up in Barrow-in-Furness, Maddi Nicholson will be presenting a public show about our separation from nature, as well as organizing a community dinner, made using regional food. Over in Newcastle, a participant is broadcasting her musical project, in which regional performers embark on a mission to sing plants back to health in Newcastle’s Jesmond Dene.
Like Gallaccio, another participant will be working with schoolchildren – on the scheduled date she is aiming to cover Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in youth creations that document their aspirations and concerns for the tomorrow. “Youthful expressions are compelling because they’re not as trammelled as adults’,” she says in her call to action video. “Young people’s input to the world is something distinctive and perhaps it can provoke a feeling of duty from each person. Kids are unbiased. They have concerns for tomorrow. But it isn’t meant to be about worry – it should be about hope 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 drawing birds and then embodying them – and for Remember Nature day he is planning to represent an iconic figure. He is also conducting a walking tour of the city, stopping at places that have been part of his Pansy Project over the recent decades. That ongoing series commenced following he experienced multiple occurrences of homophobic abuse on a single day. As a reaction, Harfleet decided to place a bloom at the location of every incident and record it – the project has since grown to cover events experienced by other people across the world. “I leave the pansies there but they are temporary,” says Harfleet. “It seems pigeons like to eat them, so they’re a very temporary 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 terrible thing,” he says.
The intention on 4 November is to sow flowers at fresh spots and also refresh the memorials in places he has previously memorialised, all the while talking to those on the guided walk about the occurrences and his memories of them. “I’ve recorded quite a few following earlier installations,” he says mournfully.
The artist wishes his work – and
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