Viviane Sassen photographs Frank Ocean in Japan for ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ magazine

Photo of Frank Ocean wearing a striped hoodie and race helmet branded by RWB and Xenadrine, with his hands at either side and eyes gazing off to the right. Behind him is a racing speedway chicane and a blue sky with clouds.

“Foxface,” Boys Don’t Cry, p. 165 (Apple Music).

In his magazine, Boys Don’t Cry, Frank Ocean explores Japan’s car scene in a photographic series by Dutch artist Viviane Sassen titled “Foxface.” Sassen captured the images in and outside of Tokyo at automotive events and racetracks, including Ebisu Circuit in Fukushima.

Notably, the editorial includes an image (p. 165) that appears on one of three front covers for Boys Don’t Cry and two of four album covers for Ocean’s companion project, Blonde. The so-called “helmet cover” photo shows Ocean sporting a custom Arai GP-6RC racing helmet with “Rauh-Welt Begriff” branding. RWB is an automotive shop known for its custom Porsche builds; the Japanese branch is managed by Toshiya Tom Ichiraku, who lent the helmet for the photoshoot. In the same portrait, Ocean is also wearing a white hoodie (which appears pink) with a NASCAR-inspired stripe across the chest. He originally planned to release this merchandise with the zine, but it never materialized.

Another photo of note (p. 134) was used on one of three back covers for the magazine; it features a BMW M3 E46/Nissan Silvia S15 Frankenstein car. The final image in the series (p. 175) also appeared on one of two covers for a Boys Don’t Cry prototype that Ocean teased on Tumblr in April 2015; it shows him wearing the aforementioned striped hoodie, with the Tokyo skyline in the background.

In addition to “Foxface,” Sassen contributed another photo series to Boys Don’t Cry titled “No Way Out/In,” which she captured in various parts of Africa.

Magazine scans, photography, behind-the-scenes content, and related artwork are all available below.

Scans:

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Photography:

Behind the Scenes:

Related Artwork:

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Unreleased prototypes of Boys Don’t Cry magazine with photos from pages 165 and 175 (Tumblr, 2015-04-06).

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