Frank Heath’s “Backup” raises big, existential questions with an ingratiating ease and casual sense of humor. Most of the works are metal plaques laser-cut with various texts, including transcripts of online chats with customer service representatives. These can be highly self-referential: an exchange with a plaque-making company has been etched on a plate produced by that company. Heath teases out of these interactions subtle mediations on technology and the very nature of communication. The sprawling purview of Heath’s concerns are evident in his video series On the Beach (2014); the episode on view here features interviews with scientists at Switzerland’s CERN research facility who offer real insights into the universe within a fictional post-apocalyptic narrative frame.
