"John Taylor’s elaborately detailed ships – sculptures based upon historic vessels and constructed of found and decayed materials – have become familiar to Seattle gallery visitors after several critically acclaimed shows at Garde Rail and an exhibition at the Henry in 2003. While these extinct cargo ships, steamboats, Confederate blockade-runners, and passenger ferries evoke an earlier time, the past is brought to life by the patina of the discarded materials Taylor uses to recreate them. The meticulous construction of these ships prevents us at first from recognizing the mundane nature of the aging metal objects. Only after closer investigation do we realize that the paddle wheel is a rusted coffee can, the mechanical components on the ship’s deck are corroded motherboards, and the ship’s cabin is crowned with a stretched out Speidel watchband. The longer we stare, the more we notice such details. Ultimately, these spent and abandoned particulars give way to the cumulative effect of their composition and lead us to contemplate journeys, transactions, and conflicts that long ago played themselves out."