Artists Fight Back Against the Environmental Crisis: Planting the Fruit That Dropped on Newton's Head

In 2015, visionary and advocate Gustav Metzger launched one of his final important works. Recognized for creating self-destructive creations, Metzger had dedicated his life to addressing global challenges from nuclear disarmament to plant-based living. Via a concise video message, he issued a call for a global day of action to remember nature.

“I call upon you for your engagement in this global appeal for a day of action to reflect on the environment on 4 November 2015,” he declared, urging cultural workers to resist the ongoing loss of flora and fauna. “Our task is to remind people of the diversity and intricacy in nature … and by doing so the arts will venture into domains that are naturally imaginative.”

The Birth of Nature Remembrance

Thus the Nature Remembrance initiative was established, a day when cultural practitioners throughout Britain created responses to the unfolding climate catastrophe. An organizer, who cared for Metzger in his last days, recalls his sense of urgency. “There was a strong sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “My advice was – we must act now. No need to pause for financial support or for anyone to green light this. We should proceed.”

A Decade Later

After ten years, Remember Nature did not incited the mass movement across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but supporters think its influence can still be felt in initiatives like cultural advocacy groups and climate activism networks, as well as in how artists approach the environmental impact of their methods. That’s why she is restaging it to celebrate its decade milestone. Part of the 18 lead artists participating now are A Man Called Adam and other notable figures. Each has designed posters, made video appeals, and developed pieces set to be presented on November 4, 2025.

Cultivating Awareness

When speaking to one participant, she is out in a field in Kent, assisting with planting apple trees that will grow to form a circular grove. Engaging schoolchildren, her project is half artwork and part learning experience. As she explains, the design and cultivation sessions have already included learning about maths (measuring out the planting intervals), genetics (discussing the genetic makeup), and history (mapping the journeys of how various cultivars arrived in Britain).

A lot of the apples were chosen because they’ve got funny names such as the Bloody Butcher. We have one apple that produces red juice

“Several the apples were chosen because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Bloody Butcher,” the artist notes. “We have one apple that produces scarlet-colored sap. They all have stories behind them. The decio apple was introduced by the Romans. The Flower of Kent is the apple that dropped off a tree and struck the scientist’s head.”

Gallaccio wanted the children to be more consciously engaged of the natural world and the control we have over it. “For a lot of them, apples were just things you find in a supermarket, so I was encouraging them, next time they were out, to look on the bag and see the variety and their origin. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Artistic Responses Throughout Britain

At the capital, a participant’s work about extinction will include attendees searching an art institution on a mission to find the ice masses that have been lost in recent years. All formations will be illustrated on the gallery’s windows and walls using special pens. Whenever one is found, a alert will occur and a reading will be conducted to honor that individual formation.

Meanwhile, up in another location, a creative will be hosting a public show about our alienation from the environment, as well as holding a shared meal, cooked from sustainable ingredients. Over in Newcastle, an artist is sharing her musical project, in which community vocalists embark on a mission to perform for vegetation in a green space.

Young Insights

Similar to other artists, another participant will be engaging schoolchildren – on the day itself she is aiming to cover a cultural venue in children’s artwork that capture their hopes and fears for the tomorrow. “Youthful expressions are impactful because they’re not as inhibited as grown-ups’,” she says in her public appeal. “Young people’s input to the world is something distinctive and hopefully it will inspire a feeling of duty from each person. Children are innocent. They have concerns for tomorrow. But let’s not make it about worry – it should be about positivity and our responsibility that they have a tomorrow.”

Remembrance and Reflection

A participant’s work also appeals to children. As a former drag queen, his feathered initiative involves illustrating avians and then dressing up as them – and for the initiative he is planning to tackle 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 recent decades. This endeavor commenced following he faced multiple occurrences of homophobic abuse on a single day. In response, Harfleet decided to place a bloom at the site of each occurrence and record it – the project has since expanded to cover events experienced by other people across the world. “The flowers remain there but they fade quickly,” says Harfleet. “Reportedly pigeons like to eat them, so they’re a very temporary memorial.”

The artist selected the pansy not just for the clear connection – it has long been a slur – but also because its origin is the French verb, penser, to think. “It was linked to a man who is reflective, and that, of course, is a negative trait,” he says.

The intention on Remember Nature day is to place blooms at additional sites and also refresh the memorials in places he has marked earlier, all the while talking to those on the walking tour about the occurrences and his personal experiences. “I’ve recorded quite a few since I last planted,” he says mournfully.

Moving Forward with Hope

Harfleet hopes his work – and