Cultural Figures Respond In the Face of the Planetary Crisis: Sowing the Fruit That Fell on Isaac Newton's Head

Back in 2015, creative and campaigner Gustav Metzger embarked on one of his ultimate significant endeavors. Famed for introducing art that erases itself, Metzger had devoted his career to confronting societal issues from anti-nuclear advocacy to ethical eating. Through a short video message, he requested support for a global day of action to remember nature.

“This is my appeal for your engagement in this worldwide call for a day of action to reflect on the environment on November 4th, 2015,” he stated, inviting cultural workers to oppose the ongoing loss of living beings. “Our task is to help the public recall of the richness and complexity in nature … and by doing so creativity will explore territories that are naturally imaginative.”

The Birth of Environmental Reflection

And so the environmental art day came into being, a day when artists across the country produced pieces to the ongoing environmental crisis. One of the curators, who supported Metzger in his later life, recalls his sense of urgency. “There was 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 funding or for anyone to authorize this. Take action immediately.”

A Decade Later

After ten years, the project did not sparked the widespread change across the arts that Metzger had hoped for, but supporters think its legacy can still be observed in movements like artist-led declarations and Extinction Rebellion, as well as in how makers handle the environmental impact of their practices. For this purpose she is reviving it to mark its 10-year anniversary. Part of the key participants participating now are Yu-Chen Wang and other notable figures. All participants have created visual art, shared messages, and created artworks set to be unveiled on the fourth of November next year.

Planting Hope

In conversation with Anya Gallaccio, she is working outdoors in a rural area, assisting with planting apple trees that will create a spiral-shaped orchard. Collaborating with schoolchildren, her project is part creative piece and part learning experience. As she explains, the preparation and sowing sessions have already involved learning about measurements (measuring out the distances between trees), genetics (studying the hereditary traits), and history (researching the journeys of how different apples came to the UK).

Many of the apples were chosen because they’ve got funny names such as the Duck’s Bill. We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ scarcolored sap

“Several the apples were chosen because they’ve got funny names such as the Bloody Butcher,” she explains. “We have one apple that releases scarlet-colored sap. They all have background narratives. The decio apple was introduced by the Romans. The Flower of Kent is the apple that fell from a tree and hit the scientist’s head.”

The artist aimed the children to be more consciously engaged of nature and the influence we have over it. “To many of them, apples were just things you get at a supermarket, so I was prompting them, next time they were out, to look on the bag and see what they’re called and where they were grown. Ideally it reads Kent!”

Artistic Responses Nationwide

In London, Youngsook Choi’s project on disappearance will include attendees searching Tate Modern on a mission to find the seven major glaciers that have been vanished in modern times. All formations will be depicted on the museum surfaces using invisible ink. Each discovery, a alert will occur and a reading will be performed to commemorate that individual formation.

Meanwhile, up in a northern town, an artist will be hosting a public show about our disconnection from the land, as well as organizing a communal feast, prepared with sustainable ingredients. Further north, Uta Kögelsberger is streaming her environmental performance, in which regional performers embark on a mission to use music to heal flora in a green space.

Children’s Voices

Like Gallaccio, Cornelia Parker will be working with schoolchildren – on the actual event she is aiming to fill an art space in youth creations that document their dreams and worries for the future. “Youthful expressions are impactful because they’re not as trammelled as adults’,” she says in her recorded message. “The contributions of youth to the world is something truly special and it may stimulate a sense of responsibility from us all. Youth is pure. They have concerns for tomorrow. But it isn’t meant to be about fear – it should be about positivity and our responsibility that they see a better world.”

Memorials and Memory

Another artist’s work also connects with children. With a background in performance, his avian project involves illustrating avians and then dressing up as them – and for Remember Nature day he is planning to tackle a local symbol. He is also staging a walking tour of the city, exploring locations that have been part of his long-term work over the past twenty years. That ongoing series started after he experienced multiple occurrences of discrimination on a particular day. In response, Harfleet decided to sow a flower at the site of each occurrence and document it – the project has since spiralled to incorporate experiences shared by other people across the world. “The flowers remain there but they fade quickly,” says Harfleet. “Apparently wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a ephemeral memorial.”

He picked the pansy not just for the direct association – it has long been a derogatory label – but also because its origin is the French verb, penser, to think. “It was linked to a man who is thoughtful, and that, of course, is a negative trait,” he says.

The plan on Remember Nature day is to sow flowers at additional sites and also replant flowers in places he has honored before, all the while discussing with those on the itinerant journey about the occurrences and his memories of them. “There’s been quite a few since I last planted,” he says mournfully.

Moving Forward with Hope

The artist wishes his work – and