I was struck by the incongruity of this mural – a surrealistic halo-wrapped Virgin Mary rising from a barren desert amidst a pile of enormous flowers. And then I saw the barred window cut into the sky of the mural. Meanwhile, that is real earth at the base of the mural, supporting a bush, incongruously growing in front of the painting. One might wonder which came first, the bush or the painting? This foreground layer provides the only reality in the image, yet it miraculously merges into the mural – the middleground subject layer -- as if it was a vision created by the Virgin Mary herself. The barred window, along with the curved sliver of sky overhead, reveals the entire mural as painted on the wall of a building, which in turn creates a background layer. It is fascinating – we can look at the building as either a structure or as a mural. In this image, these middleground and background layers can change roles, depending upon how you choose to look at them.