Vielmetter Los Angeles congratulates Hayv Kahraman on the inclusion of her work in the 2025 Hawai’i Triennial ALOHA NŌ (HT25) curated by Wassan Al-Khudhairi, Binna Choi, and Noelle M.K.Y. Kahanu on view from February 15 through May 4, 2025.
For HT25, Kahraman is debuting a new series of paintings on shaped flax substrates. Kahraman ritualistically weaves the flax surfaces by hand and forms them into geometric shapes coming from tessellated patterns that are woven into Kurdish and Iraqi rugs. Painted upon these intricate surfaces are organic forms such as plants, hands, eyes, and snail shells of a now endangered species endemic to Hawai’i. Kahraman’s new works are imbued with themes of extinction, ecocide, war, and colonialism and are inspired by a story she was told by her great aunt growing up The Louse and the Flea. This “extinction story” describes a multi-sentient and entangled world that makes clear the ways in which we are all interconnected and depend on each other for survival on this planet.