Meet the team: Chris Hayes, PR coordinator

How did you end up a) in London and b) at Zetteler?

I came to London to take my career to the next step and tried out a bunch more jobs to add to the long list I had done in Ireland before moving. Zetteler was a really great step, bringing my experience as a journalist, in-house communications and arts background together. As soon as I saw the client list, I knew I had to apply and a few weeks in I still feel really  lucky to be here. 

What was the main impression you took home from your first day at Zetteler?

That everything about the positive working environment, sticking with our values and actually being really, really excited about the artists, designers and brands we work with was all true. Like, not just a nice company motto or something we aim for. It's the driving force behind what we do at Zetteler and why. Busy first day, I know. 

Chris, you’re an artist, a writer, a critic, an editor, and a communications professional. What exactly are you bad at?

Going anywhere without getting at least a little bit lost.

Tell us about your practice as an artist – what sort of ideas do you explore in your work?

I studied fine art painting, and during that time I've edited videos, learned how to make video games really badly, started writing for newspapers and magazines. Oh, and actually using oil paint on massive canvases. I'm really interested in technology, what it means, has meant and could mean. Definitely writing in magazines, thinking about critical debates around art, publishing and so on have taken up a lot of my time over the last two years, but watch out for what might happen in the future.

Where did the idea for the Emotional Art Magazine come from? What’s its mission?

The magazine is thematically-led, with each issue having a very particular emotion as its focus. It's an art magazine for sure, but one that is interested in everything from Netflix to radical political theory. That's how my peers and I, as well as the creatives I'm interested in, consume culture today – everything all at once, at the same time.

What’s the next issue’s topic?

The next one is haunted, which is about how dating apps have changed the context in which culture is produced and consumed (the next issue launches at De Beauvoir Block on Thursday 16 May). Then it's future fatigue, looking at the shift from optimism that surrounded art and technology in the late twentieth century to now, where a critique of Silicon Valley and dystopian predictions for the future have become the dominant idea. Then hopeful, sigh will launch 2020, reaching out to a wide range of artists, designers and writers about where and how do they find hope. 

These are crazy times. Where do you find optimism in the world today?

That despite an easier route, setbacks and all the justification to be cynical, the world is still made of people demanding the absolute best of themselves and those around them. I want more excuses in my life to speak with people like this.

What clients and/or projects are you looking forward to working on in the months to come?

There's such a variety, which is one of the things that really appeals to me working here. You have a major company like Monotype which is so fascinating because over their history you can see major shifts in industry, design and society, and we're working with them on some major new projects. Then others like BERTHOLD and Alusid who are super contemporary and cutting edge, pushing their specialities into really new territory. I'm interested in anything with a strong sense of either the old or the new – especially any conversation about the major shifts of the twentieth century or what the future might look like. 

What excites you most about the design scene today?

How designers, makers and users are both more global and local. People have very wide horizons and are interested in the reach and scale that technology and an international perspective offers, while also digging deeper into their own roots, the specific character of their local areas, to find something much more meaningful. 

If you have one, what’s your current pet hate?

Being asked what I'm doing this weekend. Probably not very much, if I'm honest with myself. 

Do you have a favourite object?

Not really – I like to live very minimally. I see my things as purely functional and want to have as little as possible. 

But what if you could own any object in the world?

The E1027 table by Irish designer Eileen Gray. I first saw her work at a major retrospective in the Irish Museum of Modern Art and have been obsessed since. This particular piece is in the permanent collection at MOMA. Polished chrome. A tubular steel frame. Clear polished glass. Absolute modernist, sleek and gorgeous heaven. 

Where are you most likely to be found outside work?

At an exhibition opening or a magazine/book launch.

Meet Chris' wing woman – PR manager Grace – here.