Art Verité Gallery

As Life Turns, So Do We

In Pananaw, Niño Cris Odosis invites us to explore the dynamic interplay between milestones and viewpoints as he adeptly incorporates figures and elements that seemingly rotate as they find their place in his engrossing works. Through his pieces, Odosis deftly employs shifting perspectives as a visual mechanism to challenge traditional static art forms, allowing viewers to reconsider angles and engage differently with imagery culled from our everyday lives.

A dominant figure anchors each painting, at times taking center stage and other times facing opposite directions. Odosis plays on configuring common objects that populate our mundane existence, showing them in multiples that echo their function amidst minimal backgrounds. Figures do not just stand firmly rooted in place but lie across the horizon, sometimes even turning upside down, adding dynamism and allowing the viewer to imagine the image suspended differently.

Utos (Command) is about household chores and the authority of adults over children, as a younger member of the family makes a humble contribution to the upkeep of the home. Diskarte (Strategy) shows another child, this time with snacks to sell to supplement his aspirations to be purchased by fellow pedestrians hungry for snacks. Plastic bags float like the kites that will fly his dreams towards limitless skies. In Taguyod (Support), pencils that take on candle-like glows light up one’s path towards a better life through education. Katuwang (Partner) shows posts of a house being constructed, reminding us that it would help to have a companion along the way while building that ideal home and a stable future. Ambisyon (Ambition) displays a child wearing overalls, as goals take the form of ladders and stairs, raising his hopes for a better future and a viable tomorrow. Gala (Wander) presents an airplane spring rider juxtaposed with a paper plane, a boy and his dog looking forward to going elsewhere, walking passersby, and a student about to embark on an adventure. Payapa (Peaceful) reflects the placidness within, as we naturally look for silver linings in clouds, believing that storms still give way to calmer and sunfilled days. Birds fly belly up and trees grow down from the sky in Panaginip (Dream), as a boy imagines himself as a wizard wielding a branch that serves as a wand. Paalala (Reminder) depicts cover from the elements through umbrellas for women who should know how to protect themselves. In Oportunidad (Opportunity), children face different directions while pursuing portals to various destinations.

It seems that in Pananaw, the artist guides us through the motions of life—dreaming begins in childhood, and as we get older, we see what truly matters through shifting points of view. No matter how life twists, turns, or flips our very consciousness, keeping our eye on the prize means getting it in the end. Odosis also banks on the beauty of the Filipino language in naming his pieces, often relying on the intelligence of his audiences to piece things together. Pananaw is also pagtanaw, looking intently, whether towards the future or the past. Paalala is also payo, transforming into payong, a seemingly innocuous object that bears so much more meaning when viewed through the lens of local contexts. Layers of meaning and twists in interpretation abound in Pananaw, depending on who sees them.

Written by Kaye O’Yek