Standley Chasm 2006

Peter Tjutjatja Taylor grew up in Central Australia and, as a young boy, joined his father on working trips between Horseshoe Bend Station, near Alice Springs, and Hermannsburg (Ntaria). These early experiences shaped Taylor’s life-long interest in landscape painting. In his later years, Taylor spent many hours painting alongside Clem Abbott and Keith Namatjira, who was the fourth son of renowned watercolourist Albert Namatjira.

In this work, Taylor depicts the famed Stanley Chasm, which lies approximately 50 kilometres west of Alice Springs among the West MacDonnell Ranges. Known traditionally as Angkerle Atwatye (‘Gap of Water’), the spectacular gorge is 3 metres wide and 80 metres high, and holds deep significance for the Southern Arrernte/Luritja people, being associated with an important women’s Dreaming.