after 18 months of hard work in the studio, the italian artist angelo musco is ready to to share his ‘aaru’—  a the culmination of many photo shoots and hours in the studio. being the artist’s medium, the human body is the basis of the new work.

angelo musco creates heavenly flowers of nude human bodies for the mythic aaru garden

 

 

the story of the floating aves feathers and chrysalis butterfly cluster has gently come to rest in a peaceful, nurturing and inclusive garden of aaru. having multiple pictures of nude human bodies taken, the artist combines them together to create beautiful and subtle flowers. the musco’s series is comprised of ten individual flowers and the title piece of a bounteous collection of evocative flowers. 

angelo musco creates heavenly flowers of nude human bodies for the mythic aaru garden

 

 

the word ‘aaru’ comes from egyptian mythology and represents an eternal paradise, a lush oasis for eternity. the ancient egyptians believed that after death they had a dangerous journey through the underworld to the hall of final judgment where the ‘weighing of the heart’ was executed before they could continue onto the paradise of aaru.

angelo musco creates heavenly flowers of nude human bodies for the mythic aaru garden

 

 

at the final judgment the goddess maat who represented order and ethics presided over a giant scale where the person’s heart was weighted against her feather, a symbol of truth and justice. the belief was that the soul and the culmination of how a person lived their life resided in the heart. 

angelo musco creates heavenly flowers of nude human bodies for the mythic aaru garden

 

 

if the heart was heavy from an evil life it would tilt the scale and the person could not proceed to aaru, and for those with hearts light as a feather, they continued onto a heavenly paradise to resume their happy lives with their loved ones and friends.

 

angelo musco creates heavenly flowers of nude human bodies for the mythic aaru garden

angelo musco creates heavenly flowers of nude human bodies for the mythic aaru garden

angelo musco creates heavenly flowers of nude human bodies for the mythic aaru garden

 angelo musco creates heavenly flowers of nude human bodies for the mythic aaru garden