(ongoing)

Located 80 km north of Moscow, between the villages of Pokrovka and Moshnitsy, lies the Pokrovskaya anomalous zone, one of the most famous UFO sighting spots in the Moscow region. A wide variety of anomalies attributed to UFOs are observed here: instrument malfunctions, car engines stalling, sudden bouts of inexplicable fear, and the persistent sensation of being watched by unseen entities. Local residents note that they have grown accustomed to living "under surveillance". They have known since childhood about certain unwritten rules designed to avoid leading these observers back to their homes. For instance, one must always use different paths when entering the forest and never venture inside alone; otherwise, the entities might "tail" you.

Unexplained natural phenomena also occur within the anomalous zone, such as highly localized rain or, conversely, clear skies while torrential downpours and thunderstorms rage all around. The area surrounding the local lake is reputed to cause travelers to lose their bearings. Furthermore, fishermen report seeing inexplicable whirlpools forming on the water's surface, as if the lake were draining down a pipe.

The most famous landmark within the zone is "Devil's Grove", a clearing filled with scorched trees that is widely believed to be a UFO landing site. In this area, mobile phone signals fail completely, a ringing silence prevails, and anomalous activity can reportedly be detected using dowsing techniques.

The mythos of the anomalous zone near Pokrovka originated with a 2005 article in the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda. The strange phenomena described in the piece laid the groundwork for the subsequent evolution of the zone's public image. Today, excerpts and paraphrases from that article appear across a wide range of online platforms, yet the original text itself can no longer be found on the internet.

There is a view that an anomalous zone as a phenomenon emerges only after being mentioned in the media. My interest in this project lies in the specific methods the media employs to construct such narratives.

I have never been to Pokrovka or any other anomalous zone. All the photographs and objects in this project were created in the spaces of my everyday life - around my neighbourhood, at my dacha, or in a local park.

All the "evidence" presented in the project is speculative; the materials were created with reference to declassified Pentagon archives regarding UFOs. For instance, sewing patterns found their way into the project due to their striking visual resemblance to flight path diagrams. The project’s title is a misread phrase taken directly from one of those diagrams.