Art Direction
In the spring of 2021, the Bond Street Maison Boghossian Jewels asked me to devise a series of conceptual images to run on Instagram showcasing their ‘Kissing’ collection where flawless stones sit within stones. I decided to highlight the colour of the jewels using colour a backdrop of abstract greyscale scenes, each inspired by a moment in history and an artist to illustrate each of the four elements.
Air – Paying homage to Dutch aritst Berndnaut Smilde’s cloud series, air was light and curious.
Fire – Dedicated to the Italian poet Dante Alighieri and heaven as he describes it in The Divine Comedy.
Earth – The texture of sand shaping the work of Arab Iranian scholar Baha’ al-din al-‘Amili who built The Naqsh-e Jahan Square for Shah Abbas in Isfahan, between 1598 – 1629, then a paradise and considered one of the great wonders of the world.
Water – Channeled the passion of Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai and his wood cuts, the most famous of which was The Great Wave off Kanagawa.
Each ‘scene’ was painstakingly constructed by set design Helen MacIntryre and photographed by Pedro Aguilar over 3 days using a van load of materials and props. Twelve final images were created and then animated to create subtle movement.
The entire project took around 6 weeks. Still life photography for jewellery is such an art form and even more taxing wearing a mask for 14 hours in a studio during Covid. Thanks to Dalia, Loft Studios, Pedro and Helen for making it so fun.
Photographed for Boghossian Jewels, running online from May 2019.
