In the dictionary, Transfiguration is a synonym for metamorphosis, a change in form, appearance or substance, a transition to something better, a glorious apotheosis. Transfiguration may also reflect spiritual uplifting or commitment to a higher mission.
In a world ravaged by misery, injustice and wars, Transfiguration might also be a call for intellectual and spiritual change of life concepts, and a statement of resistance to vulgarity, ignorance, hate.
SMCK ON REEL 2025 presents videos made by artists, designers, and crafters that deploy their experiences, vision, and lessons learnt from personal ordeals. The works, statements and poems, born out of this inner transformation, star in thirty nine insightful and poetic reels.
TRANSFIGURATION: Ji Young Kim, Federica Pallaver, Heejoo Kim, Helen Dilkes, Adeline Newmann, Neringa Poškutė-Jukumienė & Rosana Lukauskaitė, Q Hisashi Shibata, Willy van de Velde, Camilla Prey, Aaron Pexa, Chien Yu Liu, Wendell Smith, Loukia Richards, Christoph Ziegler, ZLR Betriebsimperium.
JEWELRY POEMS: Eden Herman Rosenblum, Willy van de Velde, Donald Friedlich, Pauletta Brooks, Dian Odile Yu, Yoko Takirai & Pietro
Pelitteri, Theresia Brandner, Sue Beardman, Andreia Gabriela Popescu, Xinchen Li, Nora Sarlak, Vered Babai, Neringa Poškutė-Jukumienė, Haldis Scheicher & Marianne Huber, Christoph Ziegler, Loukia Richards.
POLITICAL JEWELRY: Mihaela Coman, Ba An Le, Jason Stein, Elin Flognman, Narinée Tchilinguirian, Dania Chelminsky, Christoph Ziegler.
GREETINGS FROM UKRAINE: Yurii Plekhanov, Natalia Kamenska, Maria Gavryliuk, Stanislav Drokin.
The SMCK ON REEL video screening took place during SCHMUCK München Jewelry Week 2025, on Friday, 14 March, 3:oo–5:oo PM at Galerie Handwerk.
Max-Joseph-Straße 4, 80333 Munich (Screening Room, 3rd Floor). Find it >>> here.
Eleven selected videos were nominated for the SMCK ON REEL 2025 Jury Award and the Audience Award. The SMCK ON REEL jury members were: Christoph Ziegler (Publisher), Loukia Richards (Editor-in-Chief), Priscilla Katz (Senior Editor), Tom Wurm (Junior Editor), and Christina Panagiotopoulou (Visual Content Consultant).
The winner of the Audience Award was determined by a public online vote.
Scroll down to find out who the winners, and who the nominees, are!
• TRANSFORMING GLASS AND LIGHT, video (2:20 min), 2025. •
The winner of the SMCK ON REEL 2025 Jury Award is TRANSFORMING GLASS AND LIGHT by Aaron Pexa (USA).
The SMCK Magazine jury issued the following statement:
With his humorous and tender video, Pexa introduces us into the wonders of glass making and into the beauty of organic-looking forms created by the union of an amorphous material with fire. Pexa guides us through his creative stages that remind us of „Alice in Wonderland“ rabbit holes and magic mirrors. The procedure leading to the masterpiece, charmingly captured in Pexa’s video, echoes alchemists’ legends and practices that are also part of jewelry heritage.
Pexa's video highlights technical skills, cultural context, artistic brilliance and storytelling: the four pillars for building excellence in contemporary applied arts and design.
Aaron Pexa is an American artist, architect, and lighting designer whose work manifests curiosity and a sense of bewilderness through projection, optics, and appropriated antique objects. His multimedia works, and video fracture and reframe everyday environments through the creation of artifacts, sleight-of-hand actions, and experimental operations.
• ARTIST'S PORTRAIT, video (4:44 min), 2025. •
B. The winner of the SMCK ON REEL 2025 Audience Award is ARTISTS' PORTRAITS with Ji Young Kim (South Korea). Congratulations to the winner!
Ji Young Kim's video – now posted in SMCK Magazine's PORTRAITS section – is followed in popularity by Wearable Poetry by Neringa Poškutė-Jukumienė & Rosana Lukauskaitė (Lithuania) and by Paul Derrez – A True Inspiration by Q Hisashi Shibata (Japan/Netherlands).
SMCK Magazine would like to honor the tireless efforts of multi-disciplinary artist Neringa Poškutė-Jukumienė for innovation. We follow Neringa’s work for many years, and she never stops surprising us. Neringa Poškutė-Jukumienė & Rosana Lukauskaitė receive an honorary SMCK ON REEL audience award.
SMCK Magazine would like to honor Q Hisashi Shibata’s contribution to contemporary jewelry history through his documentation of Paul Derrez’s life and work. The video is just a small part of a bigger movie, and we are looking forward to watching it soon. Q Hisashi Shibata receives an honorary SMCK ON REEL audience award.
Last but not least, Dania Chelminsky (Israel) receives the SMCK ON REEL Spotlight Award for her video No Words. Dania dared to thematize the tragedy of October 7th and its aftermaths, and visualize her feelings in a strong and moving way, while our jewelry community looked away or remained silent. October 7th and Israel’s war in Gaza has divided and deeply hurt us all. The first step towards healing the trauma is to admit it exists.
SMCK Magazine congratulates all makers and the audience for making this event happen!
01 TRANSFORMING GLASS AND LIGHT – Aaron Pexa / winner or the Jury Award
02 LAND(E)SCAPE – Federica Pallaver
03 PAUL DERREZ - A TRUE INSPIRATION – Q Hisashi Shibata
04 WEARABLE POETRY – Neringa Poškutė-Jukumienė and Rosana Lukauskaitė
05 THEY DID, THEY DO – Chien Yu Liu
06 NO WORDS – Dania Chelminksy
07 ARTIST'S PORTRAIT – Ji Young Kim
08 WACHSEN – Camilla Prey
09 TRANSFIGURATIONS – Heejoo Kim
10 WELCOME TO MY WORLD – Willy van de Velde
11 ARTIST'S PORTRAIT – Wendell Smith
SMCK Magazine's project Jewelry Poems unites the daring beauty of contemporary jewelry with the elegance of short yet powerful poems, crafted from freely associated words. SMCK ON REEL brings these poems and the works of sixteen artists – featured >>> here in SMCK Magazine issue no.11 Made In Germany – to life through striking and memorable moving images. Enjoy watching!
• JEWELRY POEMS, video (7:55min), 2025. •