This book was published to accompany the artist’s first exhibition in New York. Ekel’s medium is gouache and acrylic on paper. His particular interest is in buildings and places that have some sort of historical overtone, such as the vast Volkshalle (People’s Hall) designed by Hitler’s architect Albert Speer but never built – but a place like Disneyland can fascinate him too.
This slim but nevertheless sturdy book presents Ekel’s work pretty straightforwardly by means of brief notes coupled with illustrations on white paper. The captions have a dual purpose, being employed partly for effect by being set large and in a variety of fonts. Individual sections are separated by wraps of thinner paper with a printed background of pink on one side and yellow on the other, with photographic and textual references to Ekel’s sources. They may provide the reader with visual background material, but at the same time they also have a slightly alienating and intriguing effect.