Half Model of an 18-Gun Sloop of War c. 1802

Curator: I find this object so compelling – it's a half model of an 18-Gun Sloop of War, crafted around 1802. Editor: My initial impression is how skeletal it seems; an almost diagrammatic form that nonetheless evokes the weight and power of a warship. It’s striking how little volume it actually possesses. Curator: Absolutely. Consider this model in relation to the burgeoning British Empire at the time. Warships like this represent power, certainly, but also the complex politics of naval dominance and global trade networks, reliant upon enforced labor across so many locations. The 'IR.I.S' marked at its apex evokes a connection to mythological power. Editor: For me, the use of wood as the primary material is key. Each piece represents a labor process, from felling trees to the precise cutting and fitting needed to create this object. I imagine artisans spending hours shaping and assembling. Curator: And who were those artisans? Were they enslaved laborers, coerced into service? The absent bodies of these historical actors haunt the model, urging us to think critically about the making of national identity and colonial power. What were their daily routines, social status and degrees of autonomy? Editor: The gridded pattern of the hull is remarkable. The repeated, interconnected pieces emphasize a production logic focused on modules, where efficiency overrides the subtleties of organic form. But what this object proposes beyond sheer practical functionality – the lines and flow, they really offer something graceful to appreciate. Curator: It invites critical contemplation of the era’s obsession with naval might. By engaging with this sculpture, we confront uncomfortable truths about colonialism, gender, and identity. How are national pride and historic conflict depicted or idealized and what work does that representation do? Editor: It reveals to me a society deeply engaged in industrial craftsmanship—even something as potentially destructive as a warship begins as this meticulously constructed physical object. And still – the wood remembers the trees! Curator: That makes me consider too what happened to the ships constructed to this plan. Exploring the vessel's materiality is also grappling with all the hidden social realities this wooden skeleton conjures. Editor: I've gained new appreciation for what such a minimalist representation reveals about large-scale building. Curator: And I am even more aware of this piece, less for what is there and more for what’s hidden behind this ghostly object.