Bahraini creative Salman Al Najem paid homage to the Khaleeji spirit during a recent art fair in Dubai, offering art lovers a chance to spice up their interiors with mini-versions of his A97AB dolls.

Six extra-large and hundreds of miniature pairs of his A97AB (pronounced as-haab and translated from Arabic as ‘friends’) plushie dolls were recently showcased at the SIKKA Art Fair in UAE.

“I wanted to create something uniquely Khaleeji that people can add to their homes,” Salman, 33, told GulfWeekly.

“I had created these characters originally in 2019 in the form of rugs, made of 100 per cent New Zealand wool, and then later made solid gold necklaces with them.

“This time I wanted to create something more accessible, so came up with these smaller plushie dolls.

“I have exhibited the extra-large dolls in previous exhibitions and when the factory that made them had sent me a miniature sample of the dolls, I knew I would want to release them as such at some point.”

After being commissioned by the SIKKA organisers to create the larger-than-life dolls, Salman decided to release the smaller versions at the renowned art fair.

And the response? The plushie dolls, priced at BD28 each and BD48 for the pair, sold out during the festival, which ran from January 23 to February 1.

“It was especially heart-warming to see children interacting with the doll,” Salman added.

“I loved seeing them play, hug and take photos with the large versions, and then later dragging their parents to get a smaller version to take home!”

The A97AB dolls come in two versions – a man donning a thobe and gutra, as well as a woman, donning an abaya.

Beyond their visual appeal, A97AB are a reminder of what connects human beings, highlighting how relationships create cohesion within communities, with the lighthearted design encouraging engagement rather than just a ‘hands-off’ spectacle.

The pieces also pay homage to traditional values of family warmth and closeness, through the lens of daily routines like donning the gutra or putting on the abaya.

As for what’s next, Salman was coy, but hinted that he was working on more plushie dolls, also hoping to showcase his characters at upcoming festivals in Bahrain.

“My art practice traditionally centres on painting so this was a way for me to expand my repertoire with something universal,” Salman added.

Salman graduated with a Master’s degree in fine art from the Royal College of Art in London, and a Bachelor’s degree in interior and spatial design from the University of the Arts London.

For more details, follow @smnajem and @_a97ab_ on Instagram.