In Search of the Maelstrøm

A film exploring the facts, fictions and folklore legends of the infamous Norwegian whirlpool.

Locally known as Moskstraumen, the Maelstrøm is the most observed, exaggerated and reified ocean current in the world, inspiring writers such as Edgar Allen Poe and Jules Verne, and luring many a mathematician and a few myth seekers to its dangerous waters.

In August 2006 Heather Barnett travelled to the Lofoten Islands in search of the giant whirlpools and violent waves of the Maelstrøm. Her search took her into the heart of the local fishing communities, across the infamous waters and into the abandoned hamlet of Hell. The resulting film combines documentary, art and mythology, in an exploration of the feared and respected natural phenomena, its influence on art and literature and its impact on local lives and culture.

Descent into a Maelstrøm is a project of BOX Arts Science based at the London School of Economics and Political Science. The project brings together art, science and complexity using Edgar Allen Poe’s 1841 poem ‘A Descent into Maelstrøm’ as a metaphor for complexity science and a source of inspiration for artistic responses.

The exhibition, including works by Ian Miller and Lucy McMullen, will be shown internationally from 2007 onwards.