'Illi (native fig)' by Fiona Wells, 2016

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Type: Ceramic forms
Date: 2016
Place: Ernabella, South Australia, Australia
Materials: Glazed ceramic, Paint - non specific
Collection: Ernabella Arts Inc. collection no. 12
Accession number: 2017.0019.0006

Description

A ceramic form in shape of a round vase with a short neck, a narrow shoulder and a wide body that becomes narrow at the foot. The design on the neck features black and white vertical lines with white emu tracks. Covering part of the ceramic from top to bottom is a white, dark blue and light blue design of vertical lines with circles and elliptical shapes. Other sections of the ceramic include black and white concentric curved lines and emu tracks, and another section consists of branches or foliage like design. Inscriptions on the base read 'FIONA I WELLS / ERNABELLA ARTS / 2016'.

On this pot Fiona Wells references the ili (native fig). In the seven sisters songline story this is one of the bush foods which Wati Nyuri transforms himself into, in an attempt to tempt the sisters. In the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands the lustful man Yurla is known as Wati Nyiru, and the Seven Sisters — the Minyipuru — become the Kungkarangkalpa. Pursuing the sisters with obsessive dedication, southwards from Irawa Bore, Wati Nyiru reveals his conflicted character in a moment of self-realisation at Walinynga (Cave Hill), where he no longer recognises his own footprint. Here, as elsewhere, knowledge is transmitted in old and new ways. Inma, or performance, is the primary mode of knowledge transfer and holds the old traditions secure; and through ceramics the elders have found an imaginative way of representing both the Seven Sisters and the bush food into which Wati Nyiru transforms himself. (Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters, NMA Press, 2017, p67) 'This part of the songline begins at Irawa Bore near Wallara in the north, and extends to Alkara in South Australia. At the distinctive flat-topped mountain of Atila (Mount Conner), the sisters see Nyiru spying on them. They flee south to Witapula waterhole where they sing and splash. Frightened by Nyiru's sudden appearance, the sisters disappear underground and follow the subterranean waterways, surfacing at No. 3 Bore. But Nyiru is waiting for them, and they run south, past Mulga Park to Walinynga, where they build a spinifex shelter known today as Cave Hill. It is here that Wati Nyiru, hoping to approach the sisters 'proper way', attempts to control his desire by wrapping his excited member around his waist like a belt. But lust overcomes him, and the sisters escape from the shelter through a small opening at the rear, and dance southwards past Kuli into other lands.' (Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters, NMA Press, 2017, p87)

About the collection

This collection comprises eight ceramic pots produced in 2016 by artists at Ernabella Arts in the Pukatja Aboriginal community in northern South Australia. The pots are titled 'Wati Nyirunya (the man Nyiru)' by Rupert Jack, 'Illi (native fig)' by Fiona Wells,'Kapi (water)' by Rachael Mipantjiti Lionel, 'Kampurara (bush tomato)' by Elizabeth Dunn, 'Maku (witchetty grub)' by Janelle Muwitja Nakamarra Thompson, 'Wayanu (quandong)' by Tjimpuna Williams, 'Inma walka (cermonial designs)' by Alison Milyika Carroll, and 'Tjala (honey ant)' by Lynette Lewis. The collection also includes two workbooks used by Tjimpuna Williams and Lynette Lewis in preparing their pots. The pots represent the story of Kungkarangkalpa (the Seven Sisters) as it relates to the area near Atila (Mount Conner), a signficant site on the Seven Sisters songline. Each pot tells a key element of the story; with a pot for each of the seven sisters and one for Wati. At Attila the Seven Sisters danced 'tjana nyanpingyi' (special jumping dance), while Wati Nyiru watched from a nearby sand dune. When the Sisters noticed they were being watched, they ran away to Witabulla, the rock hole near Attila. Here Wati Nyiru sneaked up on them. Frightened, the sisters quickly dived in the water and swam underground. They came up at No.3 Bore near Mulga Park and travelled on to Cave Hill where they built a 'wiltja' (shelter) to hide from Wati Nyiru.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 5:25:26 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2026-10-06. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.