Description: A wooden form shaped like a human head, filled at the top with decorative stones and jewels instead of a brain. *Pricier Than Thought* is a depiction of the modern individual who has no mind—only a crown of meaningless luxury, presenting rather than thinking.
Form and Structure
This sculpture appears not as a body, but as a head—the symbolic seat of mind, identity, and awareness.
Its form is rounded and softly curved, carved from warm, organic wood—evoking the base of a human skull or cranium.
And yet, what sits at the top—where a brain should be—is not thought, nor consciousness, but a cluster of decorative stones and glittering objects.
There are no eyes, no mouth, no sensory features—
Only a crown of superficial brilliance.
The message is as silent as it is clear:
This head doesn’t think—
It only shines.
Symbolic Interpretation
Pricier Than Thought is a direct and uncompromising commentary on the condition of the modern mind:
- The intellect has been hollowed out;
- The brain has been replaced with currency, status, and spectacle;
- Value is no longer measured in wisdom, but in display.
This is not a portrait of a person,
But of a presentation: a human shell functioning as a pedestal for wealth.
The head has not been destroyed—
It has been repurposed.
Socio-Cultural Reflection
In a culture obsessed with being seen rather than being understood,
the most valuable thing is no longer thought itself—
but what can be purchased, displayed, or admired.
This piece illustrates how:
- Mind becomes marketable;
- Identity becomes styled;
- And meaning becomes irrelevant when appearance takes control.
The sculpted stones atop the wooden skull are not just ornaments—
They are barriers to depth.
Emotional Impact
At first glance, the sculpture is alluring—beautiful, gleaming, refined.
But the longer one looks, the more disturbing the realization becomes:
Something is missing.
Not physically, but existentially.
This is not a mind.
It is a container for value—but not for truth.
Final Reflection
Pricier Than Thought is a haunting representation of the contemporary human head:
- Still elegant in form,
- Still standing with poise—
- But emptied of inner life.
It critiques a world where:
- Display overtakes depth,
- Consumption replaces contemplation,
- And the glitter of capital becomes more precious than thought itself.
It is not a damaged mind—
It is a traded one
