This painting not only represents the fire and water dreamings that run through all Alison's work but actually embodies the interconnection between rain and fire - how they work together to create healthy land and healthy people. The two distinct story-lines are shown in schema: they can be seen to intermesh in the inner fields of the painting. This, then, is a visual diagram: it makes use of colour to convey the vibrancy of land, the sheen and vigour of the landscape after the fall of rain. Desert men and women play a key part in this process, as Alison explains:" New growth in the landscape comes from the strength of our songs and the strength of our connection to our country". The four dark border fields at each corner of the canvas serve as a reminder to the onlooker that in the desert country the sacred world is a"a very dark, mysterious establishment at the base of everything". Conventional distinctions between man and nature and spirit have no place here. " We are the culture, and the culture, which preserves the country, is us We both have to work together, the culture and the people are one. If you don't know your songs and your identity, where you come from, you are nothing".