Heresy

Bjorg Jewelry "Heresy" Wickedly Re-Done Screaming Woman Aflame! "Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost"
Be Careful What You Wish For!
The surreal world of the collection finds its echo in a no less intriguing video: Heresy, made by Matias & Mathias. In a desert landscape Maja and Julie walk at a determined pace. One of them has a can in her hand. The striking title lets us guess the outcome...
Jewellery advertising has traditionally centered around love and emotion, but this brand chose to douse a woman with petrol and burn her at the stake!
Some the world’s most inspiring and memorable advertising campaigns have been produced by jewellery brands. In fact, De Beers’ classic line, ‘A diamond is forever’, is ranked as one the best marketing slogans of the last 100 years.
However, in a departure from the norm, a Norwegian jewellery company has decided that the best way to launch its new 2012 jewellery range is to douse a beautiful woman in petrol and burn her at the stake, wearing the company’s jewellery, of course!
In fact, to promote the 2012 range, Norwegian-based Bjørg Jewellery created a short film titled ‘Heresy’, which portrays a woman being burned at the stake. Although it’s beautifully filmed, one wonders what the message is given the viewer sees just a fleeting glimpse of the product. Blink, and you’ll miss it!
The theme of the film and print advertising campaign is “Not all who wander are lost”, and the company’s website explains, "The collection makes up an odyssey of imagination, mystique and poetry, switching between dreams and reality, thus welcoming Dark Knights, Pale Moons, Magic Hours and Misty Mountains."
Matias and Mathias have worked for Bjørg before, producing a promotional video for the brand in 2010, entitled Time Away (bottom of the article). How did you work together with Bjørg this time producing Heresy? “With Bjørg being an artist herself, she respects us as equals when we collaborate. She is very conscious of the creative process and we are given the freedom (and responsibility) to shape our contribution under the same terms that she approaches her own work. She always follows her intuition and as it became apparent that the film would have to be an extension of the photo campaign and vice versa, she suggested that we should shoot the print campaign as well.”
What differentiates Heresy from your previous film for Bjørg, Time Away? “Both films explore certain themes through creating an atmosphere where the jewelry acts as a catalyst for the thinking that surrounds those themes. In the previous film, Time Away, we looked at jewelry in a more general sense, as something that stands the test of time and is inexplicably linked to memories of some sort. Whereas in Heresy it is more of a manifestation of this collection and how its aesthetic defies expectations.”
What role did the 2012 collection of Bjørg have in inspiring you when creating Heresy? “We felt that the collection represented a brave approach, in terms of standing out and showcasing a new way of thinking. So what does it mean to be a heretic? We began to explore the cost of going against the grain in a historical context. This was something we wanted to capture and put forward in the film. We felt that witch burning was the ultimate symbol for the persecution of people who do not obey conventions and it resonated very well with the mysticism and symbolic power of jewelry.”
The location looks amazing! How was it working with the team in the outback? “The girls showed great character by never complaining and going the extra mile in the freezing winds of Iceland. When we were shooting the stills they climbed volcanoes and crossed rivers, literally, to get the job done.”
Matias and Mathias’ Heresy film is also picked to be a part of Ben Trovato’s “Ben Trovato Selects” -night at FASH!ON/off Sunday December 11th. Together with respected names such as Ellen von Unwerth and Peter Lindbergh, Ben Trovato has been invited to the festival to present and showcase what we consider to be the best and most promising fashion filmmakers in the business today.
Credits for Heresy
Film by Matias and Mathias
Actors - Maja & Julie
Hair and makeup - Tina Kristoffersen
Music - Gradualekór Langholtkirkju (Jón Stefánsson)
BJØRG JEWELLERY was founded by Bjørg Nordli-Mathisen in 2004. After a decade as a textile artist, Bjørg moved to India where she was introduced to the colourful crafts and natural gemstones that inspired her shift to jewellery.
Raised in the far north of Norway beyond the arctic circle, Bjørg developed a unique attention to light and form. Her collections evoke the vivid colours of endless summer, while also embracing the stark contrast of dark winters, often referencing and returning to the textures of the seaside and mountains of her childhood.
Bjørg is known for her use of rough and precious stones in combination with crafted metal textures. Each piece pushing the boundaries of classical jewellery, merging the past and present to create modern relics.
video imageplay 1690:51
Nov 22, 2022

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