Farah Babar’s metal embossing work reflects her experiences travelling the world, with influences apparent in Mayan and Aztec forms, abstract designs, traditional Arabic calligraphy and floral and animal motifs.

She learnt repujado (an age-old Mexican style of metal embossing) in Mexico, where the technique travelled with European colonisers, but has incorporated her own cultural influences in the form of Persian, Mughal and Asian designs, and given the art form new meaning.

The art form itself dates back at least to the 12th century, as a variation of the French repoussé, and has been used widely with gold and silver for detailed work, and copper, tin and bronze for larger sculptures. Dawn sat down with her in Islamabad and talked about her work.

Q: Where did you learn to emboss metal?

A: My husband was posted to Mexico as ambassador of Pakistan and since I got married I have been travelling to and living in many different countries and I’ve tried to learn as much as I could from each place, whether it was Zimbabwe, Sweden, Australia and so on.

Mexico was where this art, an age-old art of metal embossing called repujado, flourished. You saw a lot of it in cathedrals and churches, in all the gilded work, and I was intrigued by it. I took a six to eight month diploma course in it.

Interestingly it is an art that can be applied to any kind of metal, like pewter, gold, silver, aluminium and even brass. After learning it on pewter I fell in love with it. Pewter is a very malleable kind of metal, one that we are not very familiar with in Pakistan so getting it is a little difficult and then introducing it here to our society was also a little difficult in the beginning.

That is how I started, but the way I was taught, usually in Europe it is used for smaller items especially as it is an expensive material. I translated the art looking at our culture and my own interest in calligraphy.

Q: Is this an art form you see catching on in Pakistan?

A: We are very rich in art and a lot of people do make art a profession, not this type of art because it is new in this part of the world. But certainly as more awareness comes in and the material (pewter) becomes readily available, I think a lot of people could take this up. I have been asked to teach classes but I can’t arrange the tools and pewter in the sort of amount I would need for classes.

Q: Is this your hobby or your job?

A: This is a hobby – it has to be a hobby because I have a full time job. I am an educationist; I run a school called Trillium English School System. That is my passion.

Wherever I’ve travelled – and I’ve lived on six continents, not including Antarctica – over 30 years I’ve tried to learn. The world becomes your school and there is so much that the world has to offer.

Sweden was our first posting and that’s where my daughter joined a day-care centre as a one and a half year old and I started there with her. In 1986-87, I studied early childhood education in New York, and then I did the Montessori training and now I train teachers for Montessori. The vision is to educate children to become good human beings – humble, productive people with civic sense. The school is my full time job and then after six, this hobby starts.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2018