Mia Pearlman Artist's Statement MAELSTROM is a giant multilevel mobile, 12 feet in diameter and 11 feet high, with 6 independently rotating (360°) layers of cut paper. An upside-down whirlpool, it echoes both the East River currents and the cloud formations visible through the windows. MAELSTROM utilizes the actual internal weather system to generate its movement, produced by the ventilation and heating systems. On a deeper level, this work evokes the inevitable reminder of the nearby 9/11 skyline, fraught with unknown forces, much bigger than us and beyond our control.