Frank Ocean speaks jewellery: ‘there are few jewellers who look like me’

“Somehow colours affect the way you feel,” said Frank Ocean. On the phone, calling from New York City, Ocean is thinking out loud. He is pondering the meaning of colour, and combinations of colours, in the work he creates. “I surround myself with things that have life, and colour.”

Ocean gained recognition with his music first; today, he also produces work that can be seen – as a photographer, for example, or as a model for Milanese fashion house Prada – and tangible things, products. Chiefly among the latter is jewellery (and some accessories) by Homer, the independent American luxury brand Ocean unveiled in August last year. 

At Homer, jewellery comes in fantasy hues. On the brand’s website, a recently added A-OK pendant is carved by hand from silver before white, blue and green enamel is hand-applied. Next, the geometric gem is dotted with red and pink rubies. It’s a striking mix; at once joyous and non-conforming to jewellery traditions. What, in general, inspires his use of colour, I ask. 

“The first thing that comes to mind is how I think of green, the colour green,” Ocean said. “Green is the stem colour of your typical flower so we use it like a neutral, since every colour of flower that comes out the other end of a green stem compliments green.” Ocean, who answers questions slowly and with considered tempo, is quick to add: “That’s something I just made up and it’s probably not true. But, that’s how I see it.”

Homer Sphere Cross Pendant in chet blue (£1,263)

Homer

‘I like small detailed things’

Ocean was born Christopher Edwin Breaux in Long Beach, California, in 1987; he grew up in New Orleans. In 2006, having dropped out of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina, Ocean returned to California. In Los Angeles, he found first successes as a songwriter, for among others including John Legend, Brandy and Justin Bieber. Four years later, around 2010 and after having formed a close bond with rapper and producer Tyler, the Creator, he joined Los Angeles-based hip hop collective Odd Future. 

He went by Frank Ocean then, a name chosen in reference to Frank Sinatra and 1960 heist movie Ocean’s 11. In 2011, Ocean released his debut solo mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra, followed by his debut studio album Channel Orange in 2012. His last studio album Blond was an independent, self-released success, unveiled one day after the launch of visual album Endless. Since then, Ocean has self-released a number of singles – among them, a 2018 cover of Moon River, famous for its scoring of 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s. And he has widened his remit, to include photography and publishing. This has included Boys Don’t Cry, a 2016 magazine with contributions by photographers and artists, including Tyrone Lebon, Harley Weir, Tom Sachs and Wolfgang Tilmans. 

Article source: https://www.theweek.co.uk/arts-life/fashion-jewellery/958699/frank-ocean-speaks-jewellery-interview-homer