A brief for Goldsmiths University of London, MA Expanded Practice. by David Jones, Charlie Manthorp and Natalia Dovhalionok
IWTB explores the potential of belief whether in ceremony, ritual, the supernatural, or extraterrestrial.
IWTB explores the potential of belief whether in ceremony, ritual, the supernatural, or extraterrestrial.
(ONGOING) The Sandown Clown of the Isle of Wight, by David Jones and Natalia Dovhalionok.
Life-size replica of ‘Sam’, designed as the most faithful depiction of this alien encounter. Gifted to the town of Sandown, Isle of Wight, as a tribute to the enduring mystery.
List of collaborators coming soon.
Life-size replica of ‘Sam’, designed as the most faithful depiction of this alien encounter. Gifted to the town of Sandown, Isle of Wight, as a tribute to the enduring mystery.
List of collaborators coming soon.
Belief & the Tools Used to Prove the Unprovable (2016–17) by David Jones,
This mockumentary film begins as a design investigation into UFO sightings, abduction accounts, and the tools built to study them — but gradually slips into something stranger…
This mockumentary film begins as a design investigation into UFO sightings, abduction accounts, and the tools built to study them — but gradually slips into something stranger…
XANADU is a field station for the strange, the sacred, and the speculative. We work with communities to uncover local myths, forgotten stories, and unexplained phenomena — not to debunk, but to listen, document, and co-create.
We believe every place deserves its own legends. From UFO sightings to whispered folklore, we use design, storytelling, and artefact-making to help people reconnect with their land, their past, and each other. These stories aren't owned by anyone. They grow, shift, and belong to those who tell them. Xanadu operates off-grid in spirit.
We resist the flattening forces of mass culture, instead inviting awe, curiosity, and communal imagination. We build tools and experiences that give voice to the unseen. A ghost in the hedgerow, a light over the hill, a half-remembered tale told anew. We’re not here to explain the unexplainable. We’re here to believe in the telling.
We resist the flattening forces of mass culture, instead inviting awe, curiosity, and communal imagination. We build tools and experiences that give voice to the unseen. A ghost in the hedgerow, a light over the hill, a half-remembered tale told anew. We’re not here to explain the unexplainable. We’re here to believe in the telling.
We welcome stories, sightings, and
mysteries Email us.
Xanadu is work in progress, currently run by David Jones and Natalia Dovhalionok. Together, we shape a research collective dedicated to cultivating modern folklore, documenting UFO culture, and weaving new collective imaginaries through gatherings, rituals, exhibitions, storytelling, publishing, and experimental forms of education.
Whether you're a seeker or sceptic, a cryptid or a cartographer, a myth-maker, artist, scientist, or dreamer—this is your space.
©2025