Light and colour could be considered two gifts of nature. For centuries artists have tried to capture the essence of these two elements to bring forth creations that delight our souls, honour our deities and bring everyday joy. Great cathedrals, temples and mosques have been adorned with beautiful multicoloured windows that bring these elements together. Roopi Babra is an artist who works with these elements – light and colour captured in glass, who has brought this age-old tradition to life in Kenya.
Similar to several Kenyan families that have lived diaspora lives Roopi found herself living with her mum and two siblings in rural England, while her father and older brother and sister continued to reside in Kenya running the family business. Living across the oceans became normal for them but home always beckoned. Towards the end of high school she was at a crossroad as she contemplated following her sister into teacher training or setting out to pursue a new path of her own. As fate would have it her older brother Kamal who was an artist studying architecture convinced her to give the subject a try and with her A -Level grades she was able to enroll in the Thames School of Architecture and join her brother. While it was the beginning of a life-long partnership, her choice of subject made her the only Indian in her class and one of a handful of women studying architecture in the eighties in London. The decision that was opening up a whole new world to her was a dream come true for her parents. After graduation she spent a short time working in the UK and when her father became ill, decided to move back home. Soon after the rest of her family followed and was finally reunited after more than twenty years apart.
Eager to begin a new chapter Roopi and Kamal set up an architectural practice in Nairobi. It was very different from England. Everything in Kenya needed to be custom made and design had to include elements like burglar proofing and uniquely sized ornamentation for glass, windows or frames. Thankfully her very first project in architecture school was all about designing from the user perspective, and keeping the user in mind when developing aesthetics, buildings or spaces. It was a lesson that she would keep coming back to time and time again.
On a visit to Canada in the late nineties she learnt about a company called Stained Glass Overlay that brought the beauty of coloured glass to life using a new technique. Intrigued, she visited their factory to learn more. It was the beginning of a new chapter. Enthralled with the technique that used bonding and wiring in lieu of the traditional, difficult and sometimes dangerous cut glass she came back to Kenya determined to think about how to incorporate this approach in her work. It required a significant step. First was the commitment to become a franchisee of Stained Glass Overlay, and then the training to learn the glass bonding techniques would take several months at their headquarters in Los Angeles. After almost a year of thought and preparation Roopi took the plunge, and in late 2000 SGO Kenya was launched with a studio in their original family home.
For almost twenty years Roopi has worked with glass, light and colour bringing to life designs that she renders by hand using the artists trusted tools of sketchpad and pencil, and more recently computer aided drawing. Guided by her first lesson the first step is always understanding the user, whether it’s a couple looking to beautify their dream home, a corporate wanting to enhance their office space or a hotel wanting to use the twin elements to put a unique stamp onto their property. Roopi’s designs reflect a mix of her heritage, location, upbringing and artistic flair. Whether its designing orchid inspired panes, calabash gourds or religious figures, birthing each piece is a testament to her personal joy, art and precision. Her work can be found in places as diverse as Jesuit seminaries and Gurdawaras – in fact in her community she is fondly known as GlassWalli for the work she has done that adorns several temples in Kenya.
Its not often that one gets to find that unique sweet spot, of doing what you love each day and having the privilege of it being your daily enterprise. Roopi is fortunate in that respect because for her each day sitting with a new client is an opportunity to breathe in hopes and dreams, and then pour them out into designs of light, colour – and glass.
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