In this painting, Alison depicts the native bush
medicine plant called "Irmangka Irmangka", which can be found across the arid
Central and Western desert regions, commonly known as “emu bush” or “narrow-leaved emu bush”. Aboriginal people have sought out the medicinal properties of
Irmangka Irmangka for tens of thousands of years – it has natural
anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. As is characteristic of the
Central and Western Desert painting movements, Alison depicts from a birds-eye
point of view the topography of her ancestral country, creating a plant-like
motif to denote special places where women knew to gather Irmangka Irmangka.
Alison says that these plants like to grow on rocky hills, they like to be a
bit high off the ground, but grow near waterholes, which are depicted by
roundels.