Uluruby Peter Taylor Tjutjatja

Uluru is located close to the centre of Australia in the Kata Tjuta National Park which is the traditional lands of Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara Aboriginal people (locally known as Anangu).

Uluru is a huge, rounded, red sandstone monolith 9.4 kilometres in circumference rising to a height of over 340 metres above the plain. Rock art in the caves around its base are evidence of the long lasting cultural traditions of Anangu.

The huge rock formation of Uluru has special significance to the Anangu. They believe that there it is hollow below the ground, which holds a lot of energy and this is where their 'Dreamtime'. began.

The Anangu believe that the area around Uluru is the home of their ancestors. There are lots of important sites to be found around Uluru. Each site is a record of a special ancestral event and is still recognised today.

Aboriginals believe that: 'In the beginning the world was unformed and featureless. Ancestral beings emerged and journeyed widely, creating all the living things and the features of the landscape you see today. The travels of these ancestral heroes are celebrated in Anangu religion and culture today.

Non Aboriginal people may find it hard to understand these sites as they can appear maybe as a rock, a sand hill, a grove of trees or even a cave. To Aboriginal people, however each one of these landforms has a special Dreamtime story attached to it.

Artist:Peter Taylor Tjutjatja
Title:Uluru
ID:0701570
Medium:Watercolour on Archer Paper
Size:57 x 39 cm
Region:Alice Springs, Central Australia

Artist

Peter Taylor Tjutjatja was born c. 1940 at Oodnadatta, south-east of Alice Springs, in the Simpson Desert. As a small boy he travelled with his father often by camel or horse, to Horseshoe Bend Station, where his father worked as a station-hand. From there they travelled north working from station to station until they came to Hermannsburg, a Western Arrernte community in the MacDonnell Ranges, west of Alice Springs.

Hermannsburg in central Australia is the homeland of Albert Namatjira - the most famous Aboriginal painter of all time. Peter, as a small boy living in Hermannsburg was influenced by Albert Namatjira's central desert landscapes. While attending school in Adelaide, Peter showed an interest in drawing and his skills were further developed by his art teacher Trevor Clare.

Peter attended an exhibition of Albert Namatjira in Adelaide, which made him very homesick for his old beloved homeland. Peter returned to Alice Springs in his twenties, where he sat with Keith Namatjira and Clem Abbott to paint landscapes in watercolours at 86 Todd Street, Alice Springs, which was later purchased in 1995 by Peter's tribal group Pwerte Marnte Marnte.

Peter Taylor Tjutjatja landscape watercolours are sought after by collectors world-wide. Peter was commissioned by Princess Anne to paint five landscapes of Central Australia.

Sadly in November 2014 Peter was involved in a car accident and tragically passed away. Out of respect of Aboriginal culture and Peter’s family Central Art has removed his photograph. Naming Aboriginal people who have passed away was traditionally forbidden. Traditionally you are required to avoid referring to the deceased directly by name as a sign of respect. This has also come to include photographs, filming and voice recordings as technology has grown. Central Art acknowledges that we have named Peter on our website however it is linguistically difficulty to promote his works without naming him.

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