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Book Review
By Fatima Amin neè Kazmi | Published Oct 1st, 2024
The book entitled ‘Landmarks of Pakistan’ is a tribute to the memory of Ute Elpers and her incredible love for Pakistan much in the same vein as Dr. Ruth Pfau. To feature Ute Elpers artwork Shahid Kamal – former ambassador to Germany and Col (late) Folker Flasse collected and compiled her drawings in the form of a bilingual (English and German) coffee table book. There has much been said and written about Ute Elpers. What touched my heart especially is her wistfulness in the poem she wrote entitled ‘My Pakistan’. Her longing to come and visit the country she has so lovingly drawn for is so open, endearing and so apparent it begs the question – why wasn’t it made possible?
Col (late) Folker Flasse , Ute Elpers, Shahid Kamal
Ute Elpersl
Ute Elpers (1935-2019) was a technical draftsman by trade and a porcelain painter. She had also learned the art of using special ink pens – making her an exceptional artist in drawing pen and ink drawings.
Ute writes:
‘You are a dream for me, whether I can see you ever in reality’?
Why could I not see you?
Ute’s hometown of Muenster was destroyed during WWII and her family had to escape to Prague. She returned to Muenster after the war ended in 1945 by travelling 800km on foot and in a horse cart. The book itself is a visually striking one – in shades of grey and blue with Ute’s pen and ink drawings in black and white – setting this coffee table aside from the others of its ilk. Ute’s experience as a technical draftsman and her expertise in using special ink pens comes through as she has captured the shape and form of Pakistan’s rich and diverse architectural heritage through her drawings of Pakistan’s buildings, monuments, shrines and landscapes.
It is highly unusual for a German artist living in Germany to hold such love and affection for a country that she had never even visited, but perhaps understanding the reasons behind her motivation to help can be found in her childhood. The key to her altruism can perhaps be found in the fact that Ute experienced great suffering as a young child.
The pen and ink sketches have a timeless quality as they are sleek, minimalistic and sophisticated due to being devoid of colour. Ute’s drawings cover four periods of Pakistani architecture: pre-Islamic, Islamic, colonial and post – colonial. The layout of the book is such, that any reader, unfamiliar with Pakistan’s geography – will be able to navigate this book with relative ease as it has been laid out methodically. As Ute never visited Pakistan, she used photos, postcards and brochures as models as the basis for her sketches. Despite never having visited Ute raised awareness and funds through the sale of her artwork to the Humanity Care Foundation (HCF) to help in alleviating the suffering caused in the aftermath of the Pakistan floods of 2005 and 2010. The Humanity Care Foundation – is a charity working both in Germany and Pakistan. Ute joined it in 2003 to support its relief work in Pakistan. At the time the President of HCF was the Col (late) Folker Flasse. Twenty of Ute’s original pen and ink drawings were also gifted to the Pakistan National Gallery of Art in Islamabad.
Ute Elpers leaves behind a legacy of compassion, humanity and the spirit of generosity through her artistic talents in her drawings. She had an unwavering determination to help those in distress and in need and did so in the most beautiful way possible – through art – at once timeless and classic.
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