Visual Artist | Fayetteville, NC
DIM BORISOV
PROJECTS
Cranium Oraculum: The Prison of your mind
Amidst these realms of the underworld, one encounters the Cranium Oraculum—a haunting structure shaped like a skull, crowned with razor-wire fencing. The audience is invited to crawl inside to discover a chamber of solitary confinement or personal zen. Depending on one's perspective it is either a monastery of thought or a prison of the mind.
Cranium Oraculum draws from the artist's deeply personal experience in Federal Prison. The inner walls of the chamber are inscribed with raw, intimate writings—letters, philosophies, and revelations accumulated over three transformative years. Within the head of the skull, an audio loop plays selected journal entries, immersing visitors in the complex realities of incarceration in the U.S. Federal Prison system.
This installation is a sensory and emotional journey through paradox—madness and calm, serenity and isolation, despair and bliss. Step inside the "mind" of the Cranium Oraculum and confront the fragile line between freedom and confinement, offering a prophetic reflection on the nature of the human experience.
(Oraculum [Latin]: A prophetic declaration; a place of oracular response; an oracle.)
Structure:
The Cranium Oraculum is built around a 12 foot geodesic dome frame structure constructed out of wood. The exterior will be built up to add scull features: (eyes for windows, the mouth for an entrance) and sheathed with a tarp painted in brick textures. Atop this structure there will be a chain-linked fence and a spool of razor barb wire as a decorative crown symbolizing the authority of the US Federal Prison Industrial Complex. Inside the chamber it will resemble a modern prison cell with a toilet, sink, bed shelf and table along with a variety of other props. (books, chessboard, etc). The walls will be covered in writing, art and actual letters from my personal experience while serving time. At various moments, I will add a performance element by interacting with festival-goers in an orange jumpsuit as they enter my cell chamber.
Video Pitch
UPDATE 11/23/24:
Love Burn has accepted my art installation and awarded a grant for me to come and build this piece in Miami in February! I'm really excited to put this project together. I will be posting updates on my Instagram.
UPDATE 11/25/24:
I will be selling LoveBurn Art support tickets to help partially fundraise for Cranium Oraculum. There's only a limited amount of tickets available as part of Love Burn's grant. Contact me if you are interested in one and thanks for your support!
The Story of Kokopello
A short documentary about Dim's incarceration journey through the eyes of ihavenoidea.tv
created by Alex Oley
The story of Kokopello takes you through a visual psycho-philosophical journey into the strange abyss of the United States Federal Prison System, reinterpreted through a graphic novel format.
