Agar saw reproduction, or ‘womb magic’, as an important component of the feminine imagination. In this work she evoked the development of an embryo. Each of the four sections mixes symbols of life and death, and images of marine plants and animals. Examples of so-called primitive and ancient arts allude to the beginning of culture. As these elements are embedded within the dense layers of the painting, they seem to suggest memories of collective experience that the embryo carries into the world.