Bokja's crafty Arab Spring inspired textiles are oddly compelling

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.