This painting depicts ili – wild or
native fig (ficus brachypoda). Alison paints the ili that grow in
the rocky gullies of hills and ranges of Central Australia, and can be found in
the crevices of the Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Figs are usually a fruit of the
tropics, but this species has adapted to dry conditions to survive in the arid
desert regions – the roots of these fig trees can penetrate half a kilometre
into rocky crevices in search of moisture. 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. She also depicts a Wangunu (Bush Damper Seed) story. Alison depicts the country she knows so intimately, the precious water sources around which medicinal botanicals and nutritious bush foods, like bush damper, grow in abundance. She paints the way bush damper seeds are collected by women, are ground and shaken in a piti (coolamon, or a carved wooden bowl) to make a flour from which damper, a bread-like tucker, is made.