Studio Kōlea

Ezgi Iraz is a Turkish American immigrant visual artist and creative director residing as a guest in Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. Her acrylic paintings explore rest as a form of resistance for women, using her Turkish heritage and Ottoman Islamic motifs to initiate a respectful visual dialogue within the context of her daily life in the islands. As a guest artist, her depiction of the muʻumuʻu stems directly from her personal experiences within the local community, portraying these cross-cultural spaces as a way to actively question her own position as a guest within the complex history of Hawaiʻi. A former global creative art director at LEGO, Iraz focuses her practice on challenging capitalist hustle culture, creating quiet visual spaces that invite women to listen to their bodies and choose rest.