The Married Rocks of Fulani-No-Ura
We spoke to Richard Bevan, Programme Director for Film & Photography at Richmond, about his new book, The ‘Married’ Rocks of Fulani-No-Ura, a collection of postcards of the internationally popular tourist site in Japan, and publishing in the modern world.
What do you teach at Richmond?
Richard teaches a variety of classes on our Film & Photography (BA) programme: Video Production, Advanced Digital Video, and Senior Projects in Film and Photography.
What was the inspiration for the book? Why the postcard style?
“I was inspired by French filmmaker (Chris Marker) and his travel guides from the 1960’s”, he tells me. He learned about the Married Rocks while working on an exhibition on love & relationships in Germany and used a postcard of the shrine as an invitation card. In collaboration with co-worker and lifelong friend, Tamsin Clark, they began collecting postcards from all over the world using Ebay and other internet searches. “Artist Books are books that are works in themselves; they are not books about art, they are primary artworks.” They liked the idea of a collection of tourist postcards made to be ripped out and used. Taking multiple views of the same object and slicing them together was partly inspired by Hokusai’s Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji.
Do the rocks hold significance for you?
“The shrine as an object is temporal – the ropes keep love together indefinitely.” This ritual of redoing the ropes has been in place for 800 years and is an integral part of Japanese culture, a famous tourist landmark, and a transcendent example of humanity throughout time.
Favourite experience while making the book?
“Having fun with my friend and making something I liked,” he tells me. He’s also happy with the reception post-publication: it’s been picked up by artist book shops in New York and Paris, been shown in a solo exhibition in Nagoya, Japan, and is being featured in the Printed Matters art book fair in New York.
Any tips for students or researchers in terms of being published?
“It’s so easy to make a book and publish it now,” he says. “Lots of artists’ books are self-published. If you have a cool idea, and a computer, you can make a book.” Depending on what kind of book you’re making, it can be a cheaper and faster way to get your work out there.
Richard’s next book, Genesis, is about a failed film adaption of the Bible. He is currently working on an animation project funded by the Arts Council.
The ‘Married’ Rocks of Fulani-No-Ura is available from Tender Books in London, Printed Matter in New York and Yvon Lambert in Paris.
