Davie's work is layered with symbols, found in sources as varied as American Indian pottery, cosmographic maps, ancient rock carvings, aboriginal art, Indian miniatures and even phrases from academic textbooks. Having completed this painting, Davie found the central portion reminiscent of a giant convex mirror, which the viewer looks up at or down on to, hence the title. Davie made several drawings on the same theme, as well as one gouache and another oil painting.