Miguel Ángel Payano Jr.’s first solo exhibition with Unit London brings together a series of multimedia artworks that interweave disciplines of painting, collage and relief sculpture.
A portmanteau that blends the words limb and linguistics, the exhibition’s title highlights the unifying aspects of this body of work. Each artwork features limbs from both human and natural worlds. In an almost trompe l’oeil effect, hands, feet and tree branches adorned with fruit protrude from the confines of each picture plane. At the same time, Limbguistics draws on Payano’s transcontinental experience. Inspired by his Caribbean heritage, training in New England and decades spent in China, the artist’s work reflects an interest in different modes of communication. While speaking multiple languages and moving through different cultures, Payano has come to understand that language is not limited to structures of grammar and vocabulary, but is the medium of a culture, carrying with it more intangible values and traditions. Limbguistics aims to extend this vernacular to art and visual culture, creating a body of work that considers shared human experience.