Water, people and time flow on. They do not return to their original points but show it is possible for life itself to flow on.
Professor Gu Xiong, Art History, Visual Art and Theory; SJC Fellow
“Waterscapes: Johannean Journeys”
This art installation was created by artist and SJC Faculty Fellow, Professor Xiong Gu as part of the College’s 15th year anniversary recognizes our Johannean founders, many of whom left their homes in Shanghai and relocated to places around the world including Vancouver. “Waterscapes: Johannean Journeys” also celebrates the many SJC Fellows who have made SJC their home. Working with our Resident Fellows, Professor Gu created a beautiful tribute to our Johannean heritage and an inspiring vision of what the College strives to be.
As the boats were folded using archival paper along with archival pencils for the messages written inside the boats, this art installation will hung int he Dining Hall for nearly 15 years. The enduring legacy of this installation was summed up in a message from Principal Yu in a message to the College community, “Sitting around a table together folding boats, cheering each other up after hours of mind-numbing measuring and tying of fishing line–I have seen so many of you laughing and working together in ways that symbolize the truest meaning and lasting legacy of the boat installation.”
When St. John’s College closed for construction in May 2026, a part of this installation journeyed to WMAX in the College’s temporary office, and then it will flow into the new SJC space in the Lower Mall Precinct in 2029.