Zaki Al-Maboren initially studied graphic design in Khartoum. Driven by curiosity, he moved to Germany in 1987, began to learn the language and eventually graduated from Kassel University with a degree in art history in 1993. At this point, he focused on the symbolic content of African mythology, as well as of Islam and Christianity. This led several critics to speak of archetypes, in accordance with a prevalent fashion. However, I think that another view is more appropriate. When Al-Maboren lived in Kassel, he had the opportunity to view his homeland from outside. By letting the symbolic language found in different cultures, myths and world religions “wander” through his mind he came upon a position of his own. Rather than drawing generally-valid pictorial symbols or types, he created an individual, unique mythology of his own. His quest was for a new pictorial language with no predefined symbols. One might almost speak of a “reinterpretation” or an altogether “new interpretation” of symbols, as Prof. Dr. Horst Giszycki did in a speech. The artist’s work doesn’t show any archetypes, as he is not searching for origins, instead he views mythologies in relation to himself, thus updating them. His paintings should be seen as a record of the worlds he has “wandered” through. Al-Maboren paints, lacquers, scratches and scrapes on the picture plane, motifs such as animals, flowers and trees, but also houses, cars and airplanes, as symbols of a technological consumer society. He also confronts current political problems.