The 'XYZ' of Jaime Zobel's artistic journey

Jaime Zobel’s images have always engaged the heart and the imagination.

A new large-format anthology titled XYZ: The Creativity of Jaime Zobel — which will be launched today at The Ayala Museum — gathers carefully selected works from the master photographer’s long career and reveals insights into the evolution of his creativity.

Putting together an anthology as comprehensive as this called for a re-visitation of the length and breadth of the artist’s body of work. Zobel chose the images most emblematic of the varied stages of his career, from arresting portraits and waterscapes from his early career, to his most recent work involving complex compositions and collages.

A tough pre-production process followed the selection of images, to ensure fidelity to the original work. This required recovering elusive prints from physical film archives, as well as calibrating digital files so that colors and hues would be reproduced well on the printed page. 

The resulting collection of 184 images — many of them previously un-exhibited and unpublished — is not merely a representation of Zobel’s body of work. It is a non-linear and associative narrative of his journey in creativity, employing very few words but delivering a highly personal message.

The alphabet of Zen and beyond: XYZ is not merely a representation of Zobel’s body of work. It is a non-linear and associative narrative of his journey in creativity.

Jaime Zobel de Ayala is chairman emeritus of Ayala Corporation, one of the oldest and most respected business houses in Asia. Zobel has won several photography awards in the Philippines and abroad. Zobel is the first Filipino amateur photographer to be confirmed “Licentiate” by the Royal Photographic Society and has received similar commendations from the French and Spanish governments for his contributions to art and culture.