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During 2015, creative and campaigner Gustav Metzger embarked on one of his last significant endeavors. Famed for introducing art that erases itself, Metzger had dedicated his life to confronting human struggles from nuclear disarmament to plant-based living. Through a short video message, he requested support for a global day of action to remember nature.

“I, Gustav Metzger, am asking for your involvement in this international summons for a day of action to reflect on the environment on the fourth of November, 2015,” he announced, encouraging makers and thinkers to resist the continuing disappearance of flora and fauna. “Our task is to make audiences aware of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so creativity will explore territories that are fundamentally innovative.”

The Birth of Environmental Reflection

And so Remember Nature was born, a day when creatives nationwide developed works to the escalating planetary emergency. One of the curators, who supported Metzger in his final years, recalls his sense of urgency. “He had a profound sense of urgency for him at the end of his life,” she says. “My advice was – let’s not mess around. No need to pause for financial support or for anyone to approve this. Take action immediately.”

Ten Years On

After ten years, Remember Nature did not incited the mass movement across the arts that Metzger had dreamed of, but Joelson believes its impact can still be felt in initiatives like cultural advocacy groups and environmental protests, as well as in how artists approach the sustainability of their practices. For this purpose she is restaging it to mark its 10-year anniversary. Included in the featured creators involved this time are Cornelia Parker and Anya Gallaccio. They have all produced imagery, shared messages, and created artworks set to be unveiled on 4 November 2025.

Cultivating Awareness

In conversation with the artist, she is working outdoors in the countryside, assisting with planting apple trees that will grow to form a circular grove. Working with schoolchildren, her project is somewhat artistic and somewhat instructive. As she explains, the preparation and sowing sessions have already incorporated learning about maths (measuring out the distances between trees), science (exploring the apple’s DNA), and geography (tracing the backgrounds of how distinct varieties came to the UK).

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

“Several the apples were picked because they’ve got amusing labels such as the Duck’s Bill,” she explains. “We have one apple that releases red juice. Each has background narratives. The ancient variety was introduced by the Romans. The Flower of Kent is the apple that fell from a tree and landed on Isaac Newton’s head.”

She hoped the children to be more consciously engaged of nature and the power we have over it. “For a lot of them, apples were just things you find in a supermarket, so I was urging them, next time they were out, to check the packaging and see the variety and where they were grown. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Cultural Projects Throughout Britain

Within the city, a participant’s work about extinction will involve participants searching an art institution on a quest to find the ice masses that have been lost in modern times. Every ice sheet will be depicted on the exhibition spaces using ultraviolet markers. Whenever one is found, a alert will occur and a recitation will be held to honor that individual formation.

Meanwhile, up in a northern town, a creative will be putting on a public show about our alienation from the environment, as well as holding a community dinner, made using sustainable ingredients. Further north, a participant is broadcasting her musical project, in which community vocalists embark on a mission to perform for vegetation in a local park.

Children’s Voices

Following this approach, another participant will be working with schoolchildren – on the day itself she is aiming to cover an art space in youth creations that document their hopes and fears for the future. “Kids’ art are impactful because they’re not as restricted as adults’,” she says in her call to action video. “The contributions of youth to the world is something distinctive and hopefully it will inspire a sense of responsibility from each person. Children are innocent. They have fears about the future. But let’s not make it about anxiety – it should be about optimism and our responsibility that they see a better world.”

Tributes and Thoughts

A participant’s work also appeals to children. Drawing on past experience, his Birds Can Fly involves sketching winged creatures and then performing as birds – and for Remember Nature day he is planning to tackle Liverpool’s famous Liver bird. He is also conducting a walking tour of the city, stopping at places that have been part of his ongoing series over the recent decades. The project commenced following he faced several events of homophobic abuse on a one occasion. In response, Harfleet decided to plant a pansy at the site of each occurrence and document it – the project has since spiralled to cover events experienced by other people across the world. “I place the plants there but they are temporary,” says Harfleet. “Reportedly pigeons like to eat them, so they’re a short-lived memorial.”

Harfleet chose the bloom 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 reflective, and that, of course, is a bad quality,” 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 conversing with those on the walking tour about the events and his memories of them. “There’s been quite a few since I last planted,” he says with regret.

Moving Forward with Hope

Harfleet hopes his work – and