Alison Munti Riley b. 1966
Wangunu (Bush Damper Seed) and Ili (Wild Fig), 2023
90 x 120 cm
35 3/8 x 47 1/4 inches
35 3/8 x 47 1/4 inches
acrylic on linen
TIAA-AM202315
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This painting depicts Wangunu (Bush Damper) and Ili (Wild Fig) stories. Alison paints the way bush damper seeds are collected from the ground by women, are ground and shaken in...
This painting depicts Wangunu (Bush Damper) and Ili (Wild Fig) stories. Alison paints the way bush damper seeds are collected from the ground by women, are ground and shaken in a coolamon to make a flour from which damper, a bread-like tucker, is made. Alison tells how her grandmother taught her to make damper this way and how it can be mixed with the honey from honey ants for a sweet treat. This painting also depicts ili – wild or native fig (ficus brachypoda) that grows in the rocky gullies of hills and ranges of Central Australia. The ili are collected by women, their sweet red fruits are a tasty and desired bush tucker. This story was handed to Alison by her grandfather, whose name incorporated ili, the Pitjantjatjara word for wild fig.

