Waterscapes | Interior Migrations

In Gu Xiong’s Waterscapes (2010-2015), river networks are used as a framework for historical analysis, highlighting the central role of trans-oceanic relationships and exchanges in the shaping of world regions and identities. Rivers are subsequently used as a metaphor for large-scale migrations between China and Canada. Gu Xiong identifies how smaller rivers form the Yangtze and Fraser Rivers. He believes this signifies the integration of different cultures through migration. Gu Xiong also indicates the disturbance of local populations by the Coquitlam Lake Dam and Three Gorges Dam. He notes how the dams cannot fully prevent water from flowing but instead creates new waterways. This serves as a symbol for locals, who are also forced to adapt to the new environment.
Waterscapes shows us how life relentlessly moves ahead like water, and one must become like a river in order to survive in new global spaces.

“Becoming Rivers,” a mixed-media installation in the “Border Zones: New Art Across Cultures,” an international exhibition at the University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology and part of Vancouver’s 2010 Cultural Olympiad, Canada

Installation