Artist Talk:

Scott Barley

This talk with filmmaker Scott Barley explores his cinematic practice in relation to philosophical and literary frameworks shaped by existential and speculative thought. Central to the discussion is Peter Wessel Zapffe’s pessimism, particularly the idea of consciousness as a tragic excess, and how this resonates with Barley’s immersive, often wordless film worlds. We will also consider Lars Hertervig’s visionary landscapes, where solitude and nature verge on cosmic instability, alongside the aesthetics of cosmic horror. Finally, the conversation extends into the genre of the New Weird, where nature, technology, and perception collapse into unstable forms, challenging boundaries between the real and the imagined.

• Scott Barley, filmmaker (b. 1992, United Kingdom)
• Moderated by Charles teyssou, Stavanger Secession Artistic Director and Pierre-Alexandre Mateos, curator