Smooth iridescent skin caresses the earth, unfolding its many layers. Mounds rise up towards the sky; valleys are created. This is the land you belong to; these are the songs you sing. Thick smoke rises through the fresh morning air. Bodies are adorned for this rite of passage in a place of healing.
 
The Rainbow Serpent, the Creation Spirit, moves throughout the land, creating the landscape. It gives People the knowledge and wisdom of the land, ceremony, song, dance and lore - food to eat and medicine to heal. Surrounding the Rainbow Serpent are
patterns depicting locations across Australia from the Torres Straits through Queensland across to the Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, the ACT and Tasmania.
 
The patterns also refer to carvings, markings, tracks, scarification, and body adornments – what is found in the landscape and People’s interpretation of this landscape is reflected on their own bodies.
 
This artwork also represents the traditional possum skin cloaks worn by the People of the Victorian region. The squares of the checkerboard design represent individual possum skins that are sewn together to form the cloak. Old and new meld as this ancient design is placed on the modern - the College’s graduation gown.
Through this, The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners pays its respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups across Australia and to the land on which it teaches, learns, and practices the art of medicine.