Light as light – touches everything we’ve seen and
Light as dark – allowing others to be seen
Light as pollution – always from a source
Light as obsession – to light something on fire
Light as memory – easily moved
Light as control – electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye
Light as touch – what is the weight of light?
The Jewellery – Linking Bodies Department invites you to meet light in a different lighght, at their special two-day exhibition at OT301. Celebrate with us at the opening.
Friday, 8 May, 17.00-21.00
with Ben Wels, Brigid Morrison McFarland, Claire Vissac, Elisa Marciano, evin, Gabriela Sienkiewicz, Manon McNab, YUHNG DIOGENES
Title inspired by the one-word poem ‘lighght; by Aram Saroyan.
The Jewellery–Linking Bodies department is looking forward to hosting Robert Pytlos, who will introduce Baltic amber to the JLB students on Thursday, 23 April.
Why is natural raw Baltic amber known as the noble resin, and what distinguishes it from the hundred other fossil resins? In this special workshop, participants will learn about amber as a jewelry and ornamental material, its properties and history and the basic methods for its manual processing.
The workshop is implemented within the framework of the project Gdansk – the world capital of amber.
Robert Pytlos, coordinator of the Mayor of the City of Gdansk responsible for 19 years for the project Gdansk – the world capital of amber, journeyman in the craft of amber working, long-time secretary of the World Amber Council, awarded the Amber Circle Medal of the International Amber Association, honorary member of the National Amber Chamber of Commerce, awarded the Honorary Badge of the Association of Polish Crafts, author of article entries about Baltic amber and amber industry in the Gedanopedia (Gdańsk Encyclopedia), lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Gdańsk, Poland.
You are invited to a special event with Chun Chang & Hatutamelen organised by the Francoise van den Bosch Foundation and Jewellery–Linking Bodies department.
Chun Chang & Hatutamelen Talks & Dialogue series 5-8pm, Thursday, 2 April Theory Stairs, Gerrit Rietveld Academy **in collaboration with the Francoise van den Bosch Foundation**
Screenshot
In 2026, Chun Chang is the recipient of the Françoise van den Bosch residency in Amsterdam. Named after the jewellery designer Françoise van den Bosch, the Foundation was conceived in 1980 by prominent members of the Dutch progressive jewellery community and members of her family. Its aim is to stimulate and promote contemporary jewellery. While in residence, Chun Chang is exploring the potential of wood carving as a language for contemporary jewellery and small-scale sculpture. Inspired by Japanese netsuke, Chun is interested in how functional forms become cultural carriers, and how this idea can be reinterpreted today.
Chun Chang, Power House#1
To celebrate, Rietveld is teaming up with FvdB once more to present an evening of Talks & Dialogue. The evening will culminate with a festive borrel.
For the talk, Chun Chang will elaborate on her jewellery and sculptural practice, with a focus on her recent graduation works and her research on the concept of containers. The artist Hatutamelen will join us to discuss his project “Revival of Moluccan Symbolism & Woodcarving”, in which he carried out museum collection research into Moluccan wooden ornamental combs, bamboo lime containers, and the motifs carved into them. Inspired by these objects, he created his own wooden and ceramic jewelry in which stories, knowledge and wisdom live on.
Chun Chang, work developed during the Françoise van den Bosch residency
In Amsterdam, Chun is also researching museum collections, focusing on objects that reveal histories of cross-cultural exchange, such as netsuke. Her work looks at how functional forms become cultural carriers, and how this idea can be reinterpreted today. The presence of Asian artefacts in Dutch collections, shaped by trade and contact, provides a framework for her investigation.
Chun Chang, portrait
Chun Chang is a Taiwanese artist based in Germany. She received her MFA in Gemstones and Jewellery from Hochschule Trier, Campus Idar-Oberstein, and a BA in Jewellery from Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam. She was awarded the Marzee Graduate Prize in 2025 and is the 2026 artist-in-residence at the Françoise van den Bosch Foundation in Amsterdam. https://www.instagram.com/loosesoap/
Hatutamelen, portrait
Hatutamelen, a pseudonym for James Noya, is of Moluccan-Dutch descent. He began his artistic practice with woodcarving and building Moluccan tifa drums. He has developed his skills in several disciplines, such as linoleum printing, painting, and wood and ceramic jewellery- and sculptural practice. https://hatutamelen.com/
