‘Celebrity Gangster’ John “Chow” Hayes was one of Australia’s most feared underworld figures, a standover man whose violent reputation shaped Sydney’s criminal landscape from the 1930s through the 1950s. He rose from the infamous Razor Wars as a violent enforcer.
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Wayne : This painting came about from a conversation that I had at a gallery one day with a lady who had obviously lived in those times. She said to me “Why doesn't anyone paint the fascinating characters who were around in the underworld of Sydney during the Depression?“ I had to admit that I had never delved into that part of our history, but it immediately caught my imagination. So I did some research about the Razor Wars in Sydney during that period, and the so-called Celebrity Gangster Chow Hayes stood out to me as a character I would like to paint.