Creatives Fight Back Against the Planetary Crisis: Cultivating the Fruit That Fell on Isaac Newton's Head

In 2015, visionary and advocate Gustav Metzger launched one of his last significant endeavors. Famed for introducing auto-destructive art, Metzger had devoted his career to responding to societal issues from anti-nuclear advocacy to vegetarianism. Through a short video message, he made a plea for a global day of action to remember nature.

“This is my appeal for your involvement in this worldwide call for a day of action to commemorate our planet on November 4th, 2015,” he announced, encouraging makers and thinkers to stand against the steady eradication of species. “Our responsibility is to make audiences aware of the diversity and intricacy in nature … and by doing so creativity will explore realms that are naturally imaginative.”

The Creation of Environmental Reflection

And so Remember Nature was born, a day when creatives nationwide created responses to the escalating planetary emergency. Jo Joelson, who supported Metzger in his last days, notes his sense of urgency. “There was a profound sense of urgency for him at the close of his days,” she says. “I urged him – don’t delay. No need to pause for sponsorship or for anyone to green light this. We should proceed.”

A Decade Later

A decade on, Remember Nature may not have sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but Joelson believes its impact can still be felt in campaigns like Culture Declares and Extinction Rebellion, as well as in how artists approach the sustainability of their practices. For this purpose she is restaging it to celebrate its ten-year mark. Included in the featured creators taking part currently are Cornelia Parker and prominent artists. All participants have created visual art, recorded calls to action, and produced installations set to be unveiled on 4 November 2025.

Planting Hope

When speaking to Anya Gallaccio, she is out in a field in Kent, assisting with planting apple trees that will grow to form a circular grove. Collaborating with schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and part learning experience. As she explains, the planning and planting sessions have already included learning about measurements (spacing the planting intervals), genetics (exploring the apple’s DNA), and geography (mapping the backgrounds of how different apples arrived in Britain).

Several the apples were chosen because they’ve got funny names such as the Bloody Butcher. We have one apple that releases scarcolored sap

“A lot of the apples were chosen because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Bloody Butcher,” the artist notes. “We have one apple that produces red juice. Each has histories attached. The historical cultivar was introduced by the Romans. The local breed is the apple that fell from a tree and landed on Isaac Newton’s head.”

She hoped the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the natural world and the power we have over it. “In their experience, apples were just things you buy from a supermarket, so I was encouraging them, next time they were out, to look on the bag and see the variety and their origin. Hopefully it says Kent!”

Artistic Responses Across the Country

In London, Youngsook Choi’s work about extinction will involve participants exploring a major gallery on a mission to find the frozen formations that have been lost in modern times. Every ice sheet will be depicted on the museum surfaces using special pens. Each discovery, a alert will occur and a recitation will be held to honor that specific ice mass.

Meanwhile, up in another location, an artist will be presenting a open display about our disconnection from the land, as well as hosting a shared meal, prepared with regional food. Over in Newcastle, a participant is streaming her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which community vocalists undertake a task to use music to heal flora in a green space.

Youth Perspectives

Similar to other artists, Cornelia Parker will be working with schoolchildren – on the scheduled date she is hoping to cover a cultural venue in youth creations that capture their hopes and fears for the future. “Youthful expressions are compelling 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 truly special and it may inspire a sense of responsibility from each person. Youth is pure. They have concerns for tomorrow. But it isn’t meant to be about anxiety – it should be about optimism and making sure that they get a future.”

Remembrance and Reflection

Paul Harfleet’s work also connects with children. As a former drag queen, his avian project involves sketching winged creatures and then performing as birds – and for the event he is aiming to tackle an iconic figure. He is also conducting a walking tour of the city, visiting various sites that have been part of his ongoing series over the recent decades. That ongoing series commenced following he endured several events of homophobic abuse on a single day. To counter this, Harfleet decided to place a bloom at the site of each occurrence and photograph it – the project has since grown to incorporate experiences shared by other people across the world. “I leave the pansies there but they are temporary,” says Harfleet. “Apparently birds consume them, so they’re a ephemeral memorial.”

Harfleet chose the pansy not just for the clear connection – it has long been a slur – but also because its name derives from the French verb, penser, to think. “It became associated with a man who is contemplative, and that, of course, is a negative trait,” he says.

The project on Remember Nature day is to plant pansies at fresh spots and also replant flowers in places he has previously memorialised, all the while discussing with those on the guided walk about the incidents and his personal experiences. “We’ve seen quite a few after my previous work,” he says sadly.

Moving Forward with Hope

Harfleet hopes his work – and