Notes towards a text on the recent work of Paul Eachus
‘Unplumbed’ at Keith Talent Gallery London

What  comes  into  play  with  this  work  is the  idea of  'bits'. the  whole piece  is  made up  of bits,  conceptual  bits  that  coexist in the space of uneasiness.  The bits operate as fragments or  clips from events or performances that by some circuitous route have  found themselves momentarily  in  this space  of uncertainty or  of  the  'not quite right'.  Whilst coexisting  within this  new found  space they  have the potential to influence other bits or to  be affected themselves by  other bits, but essentially  what emerges  are  new relationships,  albeit  temporary  ones .Ones  in  which  previously determined  categorisations  and  frames of reference are but vague memories . The process of each work's coming into being  is one of  deliberately  shifting and deflecting the sense of a logical  consistency;  as such,  when a  rational  interpretation reveals itself  and becomes  possible it  is then rapidly  undermined,  broken and destabilised  not  as  an act of  wilfulness  for  wilfulness' sake  but  as  a means towards new relationships, new approaches, new forces.

New  encounters are  formed  outside  the logical,  cold reason of visual narrativisation; familiar tropes of relations  between things that enable us  to  maintain our control of these  things  around  us are cast aside in favour  of  the  risk of being out of control.  The  bits that  constitute the work  don't work  like parts of  a well formed organism as narrative – for the  whole  is not  given,  things  are  simultaneously  starting up  in the middle,  ending  at  the  beginning  or  falling together  in  other  looser  ways. There is a sense of being on a journey without an itinerary, taking a kind of  conceptual  trip for  which  no map re-exists the journey.  It  is essential  that  one's  familiar  discourse  is left behind  and  that a risk is taken, one which makes the landing point quite uncertain.

The challenge is made to the viewer, for the authorial voice of the artist is in itself  without the normally  assumed status of holding power.  The spectator/viewer  is  then  invited  to  enter  the  space  of   uncertainty, demolishing the notion of transference,  for  it is  this perpetual state of struggle on both the part of  the artist and that of the spectator/viewer that brings  the  work into being.  The linearity  between  producer  and receiver in terms of knowledge and power transference and  the  maintenance of this relationshipis rendered useless.

Richard Rock 2004