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22 May 2025

Jewelry as Mirror of Society: Eligius Award 2025 Reflects on Material Values, Identity, and Digital Culture

Three jewelry-inspired art objects: a pearl-like necklace made of rabbit droppings by Stephie Morawetz; a steel pin shaped like a phone in Konstanze Prechtl's 'Fool’s Selfie'; and brass-and-metal headphones from Uma Vogl-Fernheim’s 'Dream On' series.

First Glimpse into the MAK's New Jewelry Showcase: Fashion.at has looked through the preview

The Eligius Award 2025: Jewelry Art in Austria exhibition will open at the MAK – Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna on May 28 and run until June 29, 2025, before traveling to kura-t kunstraum traklhaus in Salzburg from October 28 to December 6. Organized in cooperation with the Traklhaus and presented for the sixth time at the MAK, this exhibition honors contemporary jewelry in Austria with the country's only award for artistic body jewelry and objects. Named after the patron saint of goldsmiths, the Eligius Award is more than a recognition of craftsmanship—it is a societal lens, reflecting on current issues from bold and unconventional angles.

This year, nine artists were selected from 39 submissions by a jury comprising artist Ulrike Johannsen, Schmuckstammtisch Wien co-founder Katharina Schniebs, and Anne-Katrin Rossberg, curator at the MAK. The award, endowed with €8,000, seeks to spotlight creators whose works already resonate within the jewelry art scene through innovation and conceptual depth.

Fashion.at took a closer look at three previewed artworks that stand out for their sharp commentary on social issues, the influence of social media, and the role of digital devices.

1. Example > Stephie Morawetz: Same Shit, Revalued

One of the most striking works in the preview is Stephie Morawetz's necklace from her Same Shit series. Titled Same Shit – Cocô Edition, the piece is composed of rabbit droppings, silver, and gold plating—materials that would never be considered precious in a conventional sense. Morawetz, known for interrogating the idea of luxury, holds up a metaphorical mirror to those who overestimate material wealth. Through humor and aesthetic provocation, her chain transforms animal waste into wearable critique, challenging deeply ingrained values around status and adornment. It's a statement about the absurdity of excess and the future redefinition of what we consider to be "worth" something.

And what is shown in the preview is not the same old story of glitter and glam. Rather, it's an exhibition that asks tough questions in visually compelling ways.

2. Example > Konstanze Prechtl: The Fool's Filter

Vienna-based artist Konstanze Prechtl once again brings a unique voice to the Eligius stage—this marks at least her fourth appearance, following previous selections in 2016, 2019, and 2022. Her 2025 contribution, Fool's Selfie, takes the form of a brooch shaped like a smartphone screen. The facial features—stars over the eyes and a red circle on the nose—evoke the look of a digital clown filter. More than playful, the piece reflects on the pressures of constant self-performance in the digital realm, where artists and individuals alike feel pushed to brand and broadcast themselves. The fool, historically both critic and performer, becomes a symbol of today's content-driven identity politics.

Prechtl's brooch doesn't just pin itself to fabric—it pins down the essence of a media-saturated generation.

3. Example > Uma Vogl-Fernheim: Everyday Icons Reimagined

Uma Vogl-Fernheim is the youngest artist selected for this year's Eligius Award. With a background in communication design and art history, she is already making her mark by reinterpreting daily life through the lens of adornment. In her Dream On series, she presents a pair of golden headphones—elegant, functional, and reimagined as jewelry.

Vogl-Fernheim's transformation of the utilitarian into the symbolic invites viewers to rethink how we define value, beauty, and purpose.

Reflections on Wearability

Across all three positions—Morawetz's biting critique, Prechtl's digital satire, and Vogl-Fernheim's poetic reinterpretations—a common thread emerges: jewelry as more than ornament. These are not just wearables but statements worn on the body like open questions. The Eligius Award 2025 thus showcases wearable art as a potent language, capable of critiquing culture, questioning norms, and reframing the ordinary.

Far from being just decorative, the jewelry on display at the MAK is confrontational, philosophical, - and humorous.


Images, from left to right: Stephie Morawetz, 'Same Shit – Cocô Edition', necklace, 2023, rabbit droppings pearl, gilt silver, magnet © Stephie Morawetz. — Konstanze Prechtl, 'Fool’s Selfie', pin object, 2024, stainless steel, powder coating © Konstanze Prechtl. — Uma Vogl-Fernheim, 'Headphones' from the series 'Dream On', 2024, brass, silver, gold © Uma Vogl-Fernheim.