A JOURNALIST who painted a controversial artwork being exhibited at Liverpool's Walker gallery has been sacked. Jane Kelly worked on the Daily Mail for 15 years but, after creating an artwork depicting convicted child killer Myra Hindley cradling a baby and teddy bear, she was fired. But the newspaper has rejected claims that she was dismissed because of her sideline in art as "absolute nonsense". Kelly's other work in the If We Could Undo Psychosis series features Hitler standing in front of the Eiffel Tower as a tourist. Her controversial and potentially offensive paintings are joined by others which rebel against the Turner Prize and the more accepted Brit Art movement. The conflict between her work as a painter and her work as a journalist came to light after a colleague on the Mail On Sunday wrote a piece about the Biennial exhibition in Liverpool. Kelly said: "I was not given a full explanation for why I was fired and have undertaken legal proceedings against my employers. "I strongly believe that this is a case of unfair dismissal. I never thought anyone would notice my art at the Mail and I was not aiming to be controversial. "My paintings try to undo history and change the bad things that have happened. "I have done a lot of work on the Holocaust to show that it should not have taken place and that was my aim with the painting of Myra Hindley." Charles Thompson, co-founder of the Stuckists which formed in 1999, defended the painting and said it asks important questions about issues in today's society. He said: "It is not glorifying Myra Hindley, it's called psychosis - can anyone ever be healed is the question posed by this painting. "It's not out to shock, it's out to be honest. "Art needs to address issues and this should be encouraged not punished." Kelly added: "A colleague of mine wrote a double page spread for the Mail on Sunday on the exhibition in Liverpool and focusing particularly on my paintings. "The article was scrapped and he was reprimanded. The same night I was called into the office and fired." A spokeswoman for National Museums Liverpool, who run the Walker gallery, said: "We fully expected this exhibition to be controversial and attract bad reviews from critics. "But the show has been very popular with visitors and we have had a lot of positive feedback from artists who have seen it. "A lot of people have been very inspired by it and our visitors are our main priority." A warning at the door of the exhibition reads: "Some of the Stuckists' work intends to shock and create controversy. "Their wide range of subject matter includes themes of a sexual and violent nature." The exhibition runs at the Walker until February next year. | 
