Chopper Art in the News - Sydney Morning Herald newspaper

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/chopper-dabbles-in-art/2006/02/03/1138958911119.html

By Richard Jinman

February 4, 2006

Hellraiser … Mark "Chopper" Read with some of his works at the exhibition in Melbourne

MARK "Chopper" Read has a restless muse.

The once notorious criminal has established his credentials as an author and is now forging new paths as a stage performer, rapper and artist.

An exhibition of works by the 51-year-old, who once described himself as a "savage beast", opened at Melbourne's Michael Boyd art gallery last night.

The 25 paintings, priced from $2000 to $7500, include depictions of flowers and several images of Ned Kelly, including one with a woman's breasts.

"It relates to the fact that I think Kelly was a homosexual," Read explained yesterday. "I'm not really a fan of his. I'm tired of people calling me the modern-day Ned Kelly."

Read created four of the works with his friend, the Archibald Prize-winning artist Adam Cullen, who yesterday struggled to recall what the paintings were about.

"I think we were both very inspired the night we made them," laughed Cullen, who is from Sydney.

"I'm very close to Mark, we're very good friends, but I wouldn't call what he does art. He makes cultural ephemera - very important cultural artefacts."

Former criminal Mark "Chopper" Read poses with artist Adam Cullen in front of the painting of him at the Archibald Exhibition at NSW Art Gallery in Sydney.

Read, whose interest in art was once limited to tattoos, has become something of a multimedia phenomenon in recent years. Besides writing a dozen books, he is currently performing a stage show with former footballer Mark "Jacko" Jackson. And then, of course, there's painting - a discipline he says is "relaxing and calming".

Read has also found time to record his first album, a gangsta rap album called Interview with a Mad Man, which is released on March 13. On the opening track, The Heist, he explains how to carry out an armed robbery, and on other tracks he raps about prison life, toe-cutting techniques, getting drunk and a stripper called Pauline.

Read admits he does not listen to a lot of hip-hop, and describes tough guy American rappers such as 50 Cent as "false pretenders". He is thrilled with the album, but says he won't be making another one because "I'm 51 years old and I've got a two-year-old boy - I haven't got the time to waste".

Read was persuaded to make the record by a 23-year-old Melbourne producer, Jaydub.

"I wouldn't say he [Read] was a natural rapper, but he's a natural born storyteller, that's for sure," said Jaydub. "He's a pretty scary guy."