Protean Routes is a research-driven design and publishing project that explores the commodification and trade of
the Protea — South Africa’s national flower — as a lens through which to examine deeper questions around
colonial legacies, ecological justice, and cultural identity.
Now commonly sold at flower stalls across Amsterdam and preserved in institutional collections like the Hortus
Botanicus, the Protea’s presence in the Netherlands tells a complex story of extraction, symbolism, and global
trade. Through this flower, Protean Routes interrogates how colonial histories persist in everyday objects, and how
design can serve as a critical tool for unpacking these entanglements
The project centres around a printed publication combining documentary photography, essays, and visual
storytelling. Contributions from artists and theorists based in South Africa, and the Netherlands, trace the flower’s
journey from its indigenous habitat to its commercial life in Europe. These perspectives reveal layered insights into
ownership, cultural exchange, environmental impact, and ongoing systems of inequality.