Ootokoi / Robert Ekkel - Jungle & Desert

In his work “Jungle & Desert” Robert Ekkel presents a fascinating, diptych-like composition that unites two opposing biomes in a tense dialogue. The style is attributable to Naive Art, yet it is marked by a remarkable precision that is undoubtedly due to Ekkel's background as a decorating technician in a porcelain manufactory.
The linework is clear and controlled; every element—from the tiny scorpion in the sand to the leaves of the dense jungle canopy—speaks of a trained eye for miniature details and decorative harmony. The canvas texture remains visible beneath the layer of paint, giving the work a tactile, almost textile quality.

The painting is divided by a diagonal stone wall and a dense belt of forest, which creates a clear separation between the fertile, green wilderness and the barren, vast desert landscape.

Jungle & Desert is a study of duality and coexistence. Ekkel succeeds in reducing the complexity of two worlds in a playful, almost meditative way, without losing depth. It is a work that fuses the artisanal rigor of the manufactory with the freedom of contemporary narrative painting.