UN-IDENTIFIED is an ongoing series about the belief in alien species and how people construct their own world and perceptions. I am intrigued by how people deal with this belief on a personal, psychological and collective level.

The series is based on a personal experience I had at the age of 10 which triggered my passion for the subject and the curiosity to understand the psychology behind. The actual idea for the series started after visiting the International UFO Congress in Phoenix. I was impressed by the multitude of people attracted to this event and the secrecy surrounding the theme. It felt like entering a new universe, a subculture where spaceships, contacts by creatures from other dimensions, space travel and abduction are part of the believer’s reality, although seen as strange and with skepticism by outsiders.

Carl Jung once said that modern man projects his inner state onto the heavens. In a cyber culture, full of uncertainties, catastrophes and fears of the unknown, people are looking for a way to define themselves again and feel secure in a group of like-minded people. By giving the unexplainable a divine and supernatural character, they feel hopeful and at the same time chosen to be part of a sacred mission to disclose the truth.

All images © Annick Donkers