Scott Barley is an artist and filmmaker from South Wales, living in London, UK.
Scott studied Art & Design at Howard Gardens, Cardiff Metropolitan University, where he focused on themes of existential angst, self-sabotage, isolation and metaphysics within nature. Based on the unknowing of man and the harshness of nature, he exhibited an interactive installation, incorporating living room furniture and insects and a video piece, where he was voted as one of the top 25 upcoming young artists in England and Wales in 2012.
Since then, Barley has focused on filmmaking; further exploring themes of existentialism and metaphysics. His filmmaking praxis is often governed by an authentic need, not desire, searching for catharsis and nepenthe to actual events, afflicitons and emotions, with dark, intensely personal and lyrical films that often feature himself and his own family (Nightwalk, Hours, Shadows, Hunter).
Scott Barley has been linked to both the Remodernist Film Movement, and his work has often been compared with the ouevres of Stan Brakhage, Philippe Grandrieux, Béla Tarr, and Jean Epstein.
In mid-2014, the first comprehensive history of the Remodernist film movement was published at the Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris; a 244-page thesis by Florian Maricourt, under the research direction of Nicole Brenez. The document includes a rich dissection of Scott Barley’s filmography and artwork, along with other prominent members of the movement, including Jesse Richards, Peter Rinaldi, Billy Childish, Rouzbeh Rashidi, Dean Kavanagh, Roy Rezaäli, Heidi Beaver and Harris Smith.
In early 2015, Scott Barley founded Ether Films - a production, design and distribution company for artists and filmmakers of - in his own words - "to support and celebrate bold, brave, new, unique, experimental, philosophical and personal art and cinema." Ether Films' vision is unique in that represented artists always receive the full sale cost of a purchase of their film as well as having the complete control and choice over distribution through other outlets, nor does Ether Films impose any censorship - creative, or otherwise - on the artist.
The founder of The Remodernist Film movement, Jesse Richards, has described him as “the greatest filmmaker of the millennial generation.” Scott has contributed written pieces to the film and artist’s moving image journals, ELUMIÈRE, Desistfilm, La Furia Umana, and Lo Specchio Scuro.
His first feature, Sleep Has Her House, will premiere on tao-films.com from 1st January, 2017.