WILLEM OOREBEEK Original Blackout Series "Le Male Jean Paul Gaultier Sailor"

Willem Oorebeek's "Blackout" series is known for its use of black ink to obscure and reframe mass-produced images. The series includes a work featuring the iconic Jean Paul Gaultier sailor. This work, often titled "Blackout Le Male- Jean Paul Gaultier Sailor," uses a found image of the famous sailor, a symbol closely associated with Gaultier's perfume "Le Male," and applies the "blackout" technique to it.

Willem Oorebeek (Dutch, b 1953)

Blackout Le Male - Jean Paul Gaultier Sailor

Signed by the artist - for Andrew Webbs' 33rd birthday 29, 01'01

Print on paper

Framed in wooden frame.

Size: Image: 22cm x 29cm (8.5" x 11.5")
Frame: 32cm x 42cm (12.5" x 16.5")

By overprinting the image with black ink, Oorebeek partially erases the original advertisement, but paradoxically, this act of obfuscation also brings the viewer's attention to the image itself. The original photograph of the sailor is still visible, but its context as an advertisement is disrupted. The act of "blacking out" forces the viewer to engage more carefully with what remains, encouraging a deeper reflection on the nature of mass media, branding, and our relationship with familiar, commercial imagery. The result is a work that critiques the pervasive nature of advertising while also transforming a widely recognized pop culture image into a new, more contemplative artistic statement.

Willem Oorebeek began the BLACKOUTS series in 1999 after discovering a principle he would later explore across various media: overprinting a printed document with a layer of black ink. This process obscures the original material, stripping it of its legibility while allowing traces of the underlying image or text to emerge enigmatically.  The series invites us into a choreography of the gaze. Depending on the light’s reflection and the viewer’s position, the hidden content shifts in appearance. In this way, BLACKOUTS highlights the significance of context and the viewer’s active role in perceiving the work.

Willem Oorebeek is a Dutch Postwar & Contemporary artist who was born in 1953. Their work is currently being shown at Z33 House for Contemporary Art in Hasselt. Numerous key galleries and museums such as Galeria Quadrado Azul, Porto have featured Willem Oorebeek's work in the past. Willem Oorebeek's work has been offered at auction multiple times, with realized prices ranging from 58 USD to 774 USD, depending on the size and medium of the artwork. Since 2017 the record price for this artist at auction is 774 USD for "Double séances (head BC)", sold at Veritas Art Auctioneers in 2022. Willem Oorebeek has been featured in articles for Frieze Magazine, e-flux and ArtDaily. The most recent article is unExhibit written for Frieze Magazine in May 2011.