Tech From Here: NL · Sources

A resin made by insects

Tech From Here: NL · Dutch Design Week 2026

The work this post covers and every source it draws on, each linked to the original.

Research cited

Other sources

Images, slide by slide

Slide 1
Amber and dark brown vessels with a honeycomb texture glow on a lit plinth, a visitor blurred behind themPhoto: B. Bollmann/Dutch Design WeekMuseum or journal record
Slide 2
Diagram of a brown twig with small red insects under an amber crust, and three numbered steps: insects feed on sap, the sap comes out through pores as resin, and the resin hardens into a crustImage: RN Collins studio, code-drawnMuseum or journal record
Slide 3
Amber lac beads stand under a clear glass bell jar on a lit plinth, with woven palm fiber coated in amber resin at the rightPhoto: B. Bollmann/Dutch Design WeekMuseum or journal record
Slide 4
Diagram with two panelsImage: RN Collins studio, code-drawn. Checked against USDA NOP Orange Shellac Technical Evaluation Report (OMRI, 2014), lines 47 to 56; OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, section 23.3, (three pairs of major salivary glands; saliva is 99.4 percent water; salivary amylase, mucus, lysozyme); source lines drawn on the graphicMuseum or journal record
Slide 5
Diagram: a box for woven palm textiles and a box for lac, joined by arrows labeled weaving, binding and coating, into a box for a hybrid composite between body and habitatImage: RN Collins studio, code-drawn. Checked against Woven Landscapes, Ori Orisun Merhav, DDW press kit 3005 project text (naturally woven palm textiles and lac, two material lineages, a new hybrid composite; weaving, binding, coating; forms between body and habitat, artifact and organism); diagram after the press kit, not a test; source line drawn on the graphic
Ring frame
Brise fan with lacquerwork, Rijksmuseum (BK-18309-A)Frame: Rijksmuseum, PD, croppedMuseum or journal record

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