Botany and art lovers gathered on the corner of Piet Retief Street and Park Road for the opening of the Fynbos in Focusse public-art installation last Wednesday (3 September).
This year’s installation, which is part of the Stellenbosch Art Mile that wines along the Eerste River, is entitled “The Grootbos Florilegium 2025”.
The art mile is an outdoor gallery that boasts interactive art installations and sensory experiences. Its latest edition is fynbos-themed, bringing botanical art to the trail.
Vicki Thomas, convener of the Florilegium and recipient of the SANBI Lifetime Achievement Award in Botanical Art, held a talk on the installation, which comprises photographic and illustrative works. “It’s an honour to share the Grootbos Florilegium on the Stellenbosch Art Mile, where art is brought directly to the public. This exhibition brings the wild beauty of fynbos into the heart of town, and I’m thrilled to see people engaging with it up close.”
The Grootbos Nature Reserve in Gansbaai is the inspiration for the Grootbos Florilegium, a collection of intricate botanical illustrations. Artists from South Africa, Japan, France and Brazil, among others, were tasked with capturing a specific fynbos plant. Along with the plants, the art also features the plant pollinators in detail.
Thomas said each artist studied their plants for months, many believing their plants chose them for the project.Aside from the beautiful art created, the project was also a way of building a body of knowledge on local fynbos.
Andi Norton, member of the Art Mile committee and representing Stellenbosch Outdoor Sculpture Trust (SOST), added: “This is an exhibition that sparks so much jo; how wonderful it is to celebrate Spring this way. It’s a moment to slow down, take in the colour and detail of nature, and let the fynbos remind us to look more closely.”
The works, which show the intricate beauty of the Cape Floristic Region, will be on display until January 2026.
The art mile is free and open around-the-clock. This year’s exhibition, Tapestry of Time, will run until the end of September.
• A map of the mile can be downloaded from the website or collected from the Stellenbosch Tourism Office.
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