Gu Xiong’s installation “The River” is described by O’Brian as a meditation on migrancy and displacement. The author situates the work within the life of the artist, who left China because of political oppression, and the history of the Canadian West, which has marginalized its Chinese inhabitants. Short poetic texts by Gu Xiong in which he identifies with spawning salmon are included. Biographical notes. 19 bibl. ref