Laurena Finéus

Laurena Finéus is a Haitian-Canadian visual artist specialized in painting.  Finéus is a graduate from the University of Ottawa with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a minor in Communication.

Her work has been exhibited at the Ottawa Art Gallery(2021),  Karsh-Masson Gallery (2021), Art mûr (2019), Ottawa school of art gallery (2021), Galerie 115 (2019-2020) and Paradigme (2020), among others .

In her practice, Finéus has been concerned with representations of Haiti , its Canadian dyaspora and beyond. Through an array of colourful and large painted landscapes, she presents a frank portrayal of the socio-political climate in Haiti.  

Finéus is commercially represented by Wallspace Gallery, Ottawa ON and l’Institut National Art Contemporain in Montréal, Qc.

About the Déchoukaj Series

The word Déchoukaj in Haitian Kréyol refers to the uprooting of a tree from the ground with all of its roots; it comes from the French word “désouchage”.  The term emerged in response to the political upheaval that occurred after the exile of dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier on February 7th, 1986.  Such events announced the resumption of power by the people of a particular state against the rich.  Essentially, a Déchoukaj means to attack the goods and properties of corrupt notables as well as their henchmen.  Finéus redefines such themes throughout her own familial perspective where ownership is defined through woman-led literature. Disassembling political power structures in Haitian history, the term Déchoukaj is portrayed as a state of existence with undisturbed biased experiences and impressions.  Finéus intertwines political history in her own work, while focusing on the impact that women have in Haitian society