Creatives Respond Against the Environmental Crisis: Cultivating the Apple That Dropped on Newton's Head

In 2015, creative and campaigner Gustav Metzger embarked on one of his final significant endeavors. Recognized for introducing self-destructive creations, Metzger had spent a lifetime to responding to global challenges from anti-nuclear advocacy to plant-based living. Through a short video message, he requested support for a international event to remember nature.

“I call upon you for your involvement in this international summons for a day of action to remember nature on November 4th, 2015,” he stated, inviting makers and thinkers to stand against the ongoing loss of species. “Our responsibility is to help the public recall of the diversity and intricacy in nature … and by doing so art will enter domains that are fundamentally innovative.”

The Inception of Nature Remembrance

And so Remember Nature came into being, a day when cultural practitioners throughout Britain produced pieces to the unfolding climate catastrophe. Jo Joelson, who supported Metzger in his later life, remembers his drive for action. “There was a great sense of urgency for him at the close of his days,” she says. “I just said – let’s not mess around. Let’s not wait for funding or for anyone to authorize this. Let’s just do it.”

Ten Years On

Ten years later, the initiative may not have incited the mass movement across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but supporters think its impact can still be observed in campaigns like cultural advocacy groups and Extinction Rebellion, as well as in how artists approach the environmental impact of their practices. This is the reason she is reviving it to celebrate its ten-year mark. Part of the 18 lead artists taking part currently are Yu-Chen Wang and other notable figures. They have all designed posters, shared messages, and produced installations set to be presented on the fourth of November next year.

Planting Hope

When speaking to one participant, she is on site in the countryside, assisting with planting apple trees that will develop into a spiral-shaped orchard. Collaborating with schoolchildren, her project is part creative piece and somewhat instructive. She describes, the planning and planting sessions have already included learning about measurements (calculating the planting intervals), genetics (discussing the apple’s DNA), and origins (researching the backgrounds of how distinct varieties came to the UK).

Several the apples were selected because they’ve got humorous titles such as the Bloody Butcher. We have one apple that produces scarcolored sap

“Several the apples were picked because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Bloody Butcher,” the artist notes. “We have one apple that produces scarlet-colored sap. Every one carries background narratives. The historical cultivar was brought over by the Romans. The Kentish variety is the apple that descended from a tree and landed on the physicist’s head.”

She hoped the children to be more actively aware of nature and the control we have over it. “For a lot of them, apples were just things you get at a supermarket, so I was encouraging them, on their next shopping trip, to read the label and see the variety and the source. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Artistic Responses Nationwide

Within the city, one artist’s work about extinction will involve participants looking through Tate Modern on a journey to find the frozen formations that have been lost in the past decade. Every ice sheet will be illustrated on the exhibition spaces using ultraviolet markers. Whenever one is found, a alert will occur and a reading will be held to honor that particular glacier.

At the same time, up in Barrow-in-Furness, a creative will be hosting a open display about our alienation from the environment, as well as hosting a communal feast, made using sustainable ingredients. Further north, Uta Kögelsberger is broadcasting her Some Kind of Love / Forest Choir, in which local singers embark on a mission to use music to heal flora in Newcastle’s Jesmond Dene.

Youth Perspectives

Like Gallaccio, another participant will be collaborating with schoolchildren – on the actual event she is aiming to decorate an art space in children’s artwork that document their dreams and worries for the years ahead. “Kids’ art are impactful because they’re not as restricted as grown-ups’,” she says in her recorded message. “The contributions of youth to the world is something truly special and hopefully it will inspire a sense of responsibility from everyone. Kids are unbiased. They have fears about the future. But it isn’t meant to be about fear – it should be about optimism and us ensuring that they see a better world.”

Remembrance and Reflection

Another artist’s work also connects with children. With a background in performance, his avian project involves illustrating avians and then embodying them – and for the event he is intending to represent an iconic figure. He is also organizing a walking tour of the city, exploring locations that have been part of his long-term work over the recent decades. This endeavor commenced following he experienced several events of prejudice on a one occasion. To counter this, Harfleet decided to plant a pansy at the spot where it happened and document it – the project has since expanded to incorporate experiences experienced by other people across the world. “The flowers remain there but they are temporary,” says Harfleet. “Reportedly wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a ephemeral memorial.”

Harfleet chose the pansy not just for the clear connection – it has long been a derogatory label – but also because its name derives from the French verb, penser, to think. “It was linked to a man who is contemplative, and that, of course, is a bad quality,” he says.

The plan on the event day is to sow flowers at fresh spots and also refresh the memorials in places he has marked earlier, all the while conversing with those on the itinerant journey about the incidents and his recollections. “There’s been quite a few after my previous work,” he says with regret.

Advancing Positively

The artist wishes his work – and