Two steps forward, one step back, the journey across the playing board mirrored many pursuits toward progress. Harper engaged this race-game framework to imagine afrofuturistic scenes, using color and a notable fixation on skin tone to portray Blackness as multidimensional. Of mixed race with Scottish and Caribbean heritage, Harper grew up in Scotland often feeling unsettled about his own identity, and his art reflected the complexity and multifaceted nature of Black culture and life.
The serpent, a creative life force, symbolized rebirth, transformation, and strength. Landing on a snake or slide could slow the journey but left players and viewers alike to reflect on life's lessons, while the rising ladders represented progress and ascension, the connection between heaven and earth. Harper modernized the game's holy subjects, placing mythic muses like Medusa, Cleopatra, and Mami Wata in conversation with familiar figures of self and family, taking viewers on a journey through cultural progress, history, and evolution.
