Angelo Musco
"The body behind the body"

Exhibition: 2 June – 22 July and 30 August – 23 September, 2017
Opening Reception: Thursday, 1 June, 6-9pm

Mainly known for his surreal and monumental photographies built by thousands of naked bodies, Angelo Musco has developed a universe where the natural architectures and visionary landscapes are filled with the haunting mysticism of his own origins. The human body holds a primordial place in his work. It is often imbricated and cumulated in a complex mosaic, that creates literal or symbolic representations of eggs, nests, amniotic fluid and all kind of forms inspired by the miracle of life and procreation.

The work of Angelo Musco is a story in making, where each new chapter is written in relation to the previous one.

Moving from an underwater world (Tehom) to a subterrean universe (Cortex) before reaching out to the sky (Aves), the artist connects the elements of life. While in some series, the bodies seem to be floating, suspended and free, other works are constructed around an architectural structure, combining stories of tension and mystery, obscurity and light, isolation and community.

The language created by Musco, with the meticulous manipulation of bodies at such a large scale, connects very visceral aspects with the subconscious. His forests refer to the Garden of Delights by Hieronimus Bosch, who populates his compositions by thousands of people as well. The symbolism of trees and their various parts has been used to communicate many aspects of life – strength, fertility, community, security, interconnection, historical roots, and ancestry. Trees convey the idea of being rooted and an ongoing relationship with nature. Man’s interconnectivity is made tangible in the Cortex Project as each body is literally interwoven with another, thus creating not only the bark, branches and tree trunks but also an emotional cortex that feeds and nourishes.