Bokja's crafty Arab Spring inspired textiles are oddly compelling

Date
18 January 2013

Of all the creative responses to the Arab Spring, this is certainly one of the more unusual. Bierut-based duo Hoda Baroudi and Maria Hibri – who work collectively as Bokja – created a set of “tactile spheres” representing leading figures from across the centuries who had fallen from power. There’s some incredible hand-embroidering on show – from Marie Antoinette to Colonel Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein to a Team America-style Kim Jong-Il – as well as some more allegorical renderings of the situations in Syria and Palestine. It’s all rather strange but also oddly compelling – seeing these figures who once inspired so much fear reduced to textile satires – and the craft is undoubtedly impressive from a duo who are well at home working with traditional materials and techniques.

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Bokja; And Then There Were None

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Bokja; And Then There Were None (Yemen)

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Bokja; And Then There Were None

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Bokja; And Then There Were None (Palestine)

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Bokja; And Then There Were None

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Bokja; And Then There Were None

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Bokja; And Then There Were None

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Bokja; And Then There Were None (Syria)

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About the Author

Rob Alderson

Rob joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in July 2011 before becoming Editor-in-Chief and working across all editorial projects including itsnicethat.com, Printed Pages, Here and Nicer Tuesdays. Rob left It’s Nice That in June 2015.

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