The Gallery

Inspired by the enduring story of Noah’s Ark, this scene gathers animals as they make their way toward shelter. Noah’s Ark mixed technique of embroidery and appliqué, depicting a leopard on the ark, accompanied by a giraffe, elephant, and camel.

سُقُطرى / منسوجة جدارية – تاج سرير مطرز يهيّئ للحلم والتأمل.

شجرة وردة الصحراء التي تنمو في جزيرة سُقُطرى، جنة عدن اليمنية السرية. تتفتح بدرجات نابضة من الخيط الوردي، ملتقطة التوازن الدقيق والصراع بين الطبيعة والإنسان الحاضرَين بقوة في زمننا. ولأنها من الأنواع المهددة بالانقراض، نسعى إلى التقاط فتنتها الآفلة ومشاركتها.

تستكشف «فيردي» نباتات وحيوانات المداري الغزيرة. وبتأملها في هذه المناظر المتنوعة حيوياً، يستحضر جلد بوكجا هذا سرداً بيئياً يوقظ الشعور بالمسؤولية تجاهها.

وفرة الأرض اللبنانية شكّلت منذ الأزل تقاليد مطبخنا، وجعلت مائدتنا عيداً حقيقياً لا للعين فحسب بل لكل الحواس.

وهي تعكس التاريخ الغني والتأثيرات المتنوعة التي صاغت المطبخ اللبناني عبر القرون.

لكنها أكثر بكثير من متعة لبراعم الذوق. إنها مكان لقاء، فضاء تجتمع فيه العائلة والأصدقاء ليتشاركوا الضحك والحكايات والتقاليد. إنها شهادة على حب اللبنانيين للجماعة.

Bokja also created a ‘Tree of Life’ based on ancient traditions of hanging wishes on a tree. The “Tree of Life” was handcrafted in their atelier from manipulated fabrics of recycled silk and delicate strands of thread and exhibited for the first time at Rossana Orlandi’s place. This tree is an interactive invitation to visitors to add ribbons with things that made them happy written on each one.

The Bokja tree is based on an ancient tradition of hanging wishes on a tree. Our tree asks its viewers to take a moment and think “What makes you happy?”

Throughout time and across cultures, the three wise monkeys are iconic visual cues to ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.’ While originally intended to urge humans to embody positive thought and action, in contemporary culture, the monkeys more often depict our willingness to turn a blind eye, a deaf ear or to remain silent in the face of injustice, or evil.

Today, what have we become willingly blind to? Our textile stories address these urgent themes:

From the endangered coral reef- once brilliantly colourful and alive, and now rapidly dying and transforming into shades of colourless grey- to the precious iconic flora of Socotra, a magical island off the coast of Yemen, itself a country entrenched in a conflict forgotten or overlooked by the international community.

In our textile stories, monkeys, a reflection of ourselves, frolic across a tactile landscape of bleeding trees and fading coral reefs, occupied with their distractions: a beauty mask, headphones, and emojis. At the same time, images of magnificent nature, like the desert rose tree, continue to blossom in lively shades of pink thread, capturing the delicate balance and battle between nature and human that is so present in our time.

Shader is a series of tapestries made of reclaimed tarpaulin collected from transportation trucks in Beirut. Bokja has found that the material serves as a film that records and portrays human activity; like human skin, its constant exposure to an exterior realm illustrates a passing of time.

Introducing Bokja’s tapestry at the grand opening of Meat the Fish Restaurant in London designed by Maria Group. Inspired by Beirut’s scenic public gardens, their hometown, Bokja was given full creative liberty to design this wall piece. By incorporating iconic indigenous elements from our archives and the local ecosystem, we have crafted a captivating piece. Step into a world of artistic charm as you dine at this newly opened establishment.

Derived from the original Excuse Me Reality tapestry, the Soulafa Tapestry reinterprets its fantastical world through a Saudi Arabian lens. The addition of a camel traversing the desert introduces a landscape deeply rooted in the region's cultural identity, seamlessly weaving local symbolism into the existing narrative. Building upon the original composition, the adaptation celebrates the dialogue between place, heritage, and imagination while preserving the poetic spirit of its predecessor.

Excuse Me Reality is a tapestry that blurs the boundaries between fantasy and reality. Populated by imperfect human figures, imagined landscapes, and symbolic motifs, the work celebrates vulnerability, imagination, and the beauty found in human imperfections. Rather than depicting reality as it is, the tapestry invites viewers into a world where dreams, memories, and emotions coexist in a richly layered visual narrative.

The Hôtel de Crillon is a renowned historic luxury hotel in Paris, located on the Champs-Élysées. We were commissioned by Aline Asmar d’Amman, the Founder of Culture in Architecture, to intervene on an 18th century Aubusson tapestry, magnifying details and reviving it through embroidery.

More about the hotel at crillon.com.

Strolling the streets of old Beirut, one gazes in wonder at its mysteries and layers of endless textures, remembering civilizations that passed through it and a recent ongoing history of constant permanence and impermanence. Amidst the chaos, sounds of cars honking, Beirutis chanting and glasses clinking, moments of serenity and pockets of nature lead through narrow alleys into abundant spaces. The smell of jasmine, dancing palm shadows on the ground, birds chirping, plants climbing concrete walls, and fragrant colours emerging, takes you through a journey of times. Remaining strong, remaining still, undefeated. Broken, wounded, scarred, and wrinkled. The light shall always pass through.

Hands of My Zaatar is rooted in the everyday beauty of our local ingredients, our farmers, and the rituals that bring people together around the table. To see a project inspired by our own landscape and food culture recognised on a regional platform is incredibly rewarding. It affirms that stories grounded in local identity have a place in the wider design conversation and encourages us to continue creating work that celebrates where we come from.

Antar & Abla reimagines one of the most celebrated love stories in Arab folklore through Bokja's language of textiles and embroidery. Inspired by the legendary tale of Antar ibn Shaddad and Abla, the tapestry challenges traditional representations by reversing the clothing and armor of its protagonists. Through this subtle exchange of roles, the work invites a contemporary reflection on identity, gender, strength, and devotion, while honoring the enduring legacy of the timeless romance.

This tapestry is the heart of the How Do Things Travel collection, an embroidered world of cloth, myth, and memory.

Drawing inspiration from the shared meaning of Bokja and Bojagi both “wrapping cloths” this tapestry traces a journey between cultures, guided by magpies, lovers, and the objects they carry.

At its centre: a reimagining of the Korean folktale of the Magpie Bridge, where birds build a crossing for separated lovers. Around them, stitched ships, gathered flowers, and flying trinkets hint at everything that moves between people, places, and time.

Handcrafted from vintage fabrics, archive embroidery, and collected materials, the tapestry is not just a visual story, it is the blueprint for the collection itself. Each garment in the series is rooted in the imagery, textures, and spirit found here.

A tribute to movement, love, and cultural continuity, this tapestry is a living document of Bokja’s evolving craft.

منسوجة جدارية دائرية تلتقط المشهد من تحت شجرة صنوبر، بطبقات من التطريز النافر وأغصان نحتية وكوالا يغفو بهدوء بين الأوراق.

منسوجة جدارية دائرية مستوحاة من المشهد تحت شجرة ساكورا مزهرة، مطرزة بطبقات من الزهر الوردي يتفتح على أغصان رقيقة.

Part of an ongoing series, Bokja intervenes on traditional aubusson pieces, reviving them by introducing whimsical characters and embellishing existing ones. The fusion of the iconic pastoral scenes and Bokja’s fearless use of colour and texture, make for a unique sighting.