Words Joshua Alexander Manalo
Images Minky Manalo (Outlooke Pointe Foundation)
PASSAGES Volume 7 by Jessica Dorizac
Paper bound to paper, 8.5 x 8.5 inches, 2022
Commissioned piece
In her work, Filipino-Australian artist Jessica Dorizac brings a unique life to materials otherwise marked for discard, yet this isn’t mere recycling or an exercise in reuse for its own sake. Each piece she creates is imbued with a clear intention, though the message is not bound by any rigid narrative. The essence is feeling—bold and subtle, like the layers of a musical composition that strike deeper with each encounter, moving in ways that words cannot quite capture.
Abstraction in visual art, much like certain forms of music, often works by eliminating a conventional story, encouraging viewers to explore new and unfamiliar spaces within themselves. In music, this concept is known as “Absolute music,” a form that isn’t “about” anything specific but instead invites listeners to engage with its pure sound and structure. Without narrative, each individual is free to respond in personal, often unexpected ways. Perhaps that is why Absolute music has been turned to for so many uses, from therapy to study—a form in which silence and sound blend, carried by the harmony and tone that speak directly to the listener’s inner world.
This openness to interpretation is exactly what Dorizac achieves in PASSAGES VOL 7, a collage in book form, wordless, chapterless, and without a story. It is, instead, a visual journey. (PASSAGES VOL 1-5 won the top prize at the 2022 Libris Awards Australian Artists’ Book Prize, and the artist has since released a series of handbound notebooks inspired by this collection.)
Collage as an art form, like music, can draw on seemingly random shapes and pages, turning these fragments into something that feels resonant and whole. Precise cutouts and careful arrangements transform discarded materials into intricate compositions that beg for close inspection. For some, the expectation of storytelling is inseparable from artmaking. But storytelling, too, can be formless—something felt rather than told. Rhythmic, even when wordless. It’s a common belief that expression, not simply joy, stands in contrast to depression; art in its freest forms often reflects a sense of flux, where elements must move together harmoniously to create something meaningful. In this sense, PASSAGES could be read as an informal manual for working with shape, color, and rhythm, a book that invites our eyes to respond with the same focus and depth as our ears.
Dorizac’s PASSAGES serves as a reminder that while techniques in art can be taught, the true experience of art can’t be distilled into instruction. For centuries, traditional structures have assigned art a certain “function,” sometimes at the expense of distancing it from daily life. But Dorizac’s work calls us back to a truer state of engagement with art, where creativity and curiosity merge with everyday living, encouraging us to welcome new experiences without needing to interpret or define them. •
Joshua Alexander “Joey” Manalo is a classically trained pianist, having navigated through scores on his own from the age of six, eventually taking private lessons and graduating cum laude in 2009 at Rutgers University with a Minor in Music and a Major in Psychology. In 2013, he completed his Masters in Global Entertainment and Music Business at The Berklee College of Music, Valencia Campus. Joey has performed in various master classes and venues, such as the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Philam Life Theater, Manila International Piano Festival, Fondation Bell’Arte Paris, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and Wiener Musikseminar. Joey currently manages Outlooke Pointe Foundation’s projects and art collection. The non-profit organization was founded by his father, Jesulito Manalo, in 2007 in a bid to support emerging artists and foster creative collaborations “with the vision of utilizing art as a tool for nation-building.”
