When I watch the artist currently known as Contrapoints—I sense I’m watching more a mask performing for a faceless mass than a person talking to many people: a succession of finely executed gestures, strung together by thoughts curated by that mass’s applause and/or derision.

Her earlier work is more personable—before the persona took center stage. In that earlier work, there’s less deference not only to production, but to the expectations of all those many eyes.

All of us are held captive by who we captivate. Many slight rebellions are needed to keep us free from being only what they see, we show.

A finished product—something that needs no more work done on it—that’s what we must resist becoming.