Guards kissing triangle sculptures, fortune cookies that shamelessly state “#YOLO” and boxing twins outpunching sculpturesque innuendos are some of the many humorous imageries to be found in Greg Barth’s delightfully playful films. I took one look at this guy’s work and thought “We have a Peter Pan.”

Just to be sure though I decided to ask him what he was like as a kid, picturing him as this arts and crafts wizard of a little boy. “Being a single child, I used to get lost in my imagination for hours and hours. It was like a world I would enter that I never wanted to leave. I used to get excited at the thought of spending time in my head (laughs). I was actually never good at crafts though, but excelled in destroying everything my parents kept within my reach.”

A graphic designer turned director, Barth’s professional background is immensely evident in his films, where each shot is composed to perfection. From the placement of props, to movement and sound, to the superimposed text, every corner of every image is extremely well thought out. His aesthetic is obviously contemporary, with elements like direct line work and certain interplay of digital and analogue spheres.

Barth now works with video art, installations, music videos, TV commercials and animation. His tone is extremely parodic and directly surrealist (note: the melting clock reference in his music video for Passion Pit). His films remind me somewhat of Michel Gondry’s Science of Sleep (2006), a little like a wonderful kid’s dream. After witnessing all of this, I asked Barth if he has changed much since childhood.

“I guess not, I love looking at things and imagining completely different uses, shapes or meanings than what was intended. My favorite moments are when I listen to an amazing piece of music, sit back and imagine surreal worlds with crazy scenarios, ideas and landscapes. These moments in my adulthood are truly precious, as I can briefly escape to the same place I lived in as a child.”

You can his full body of video work at:
http://www.gregbarth.tv

Words / Ana Gomides