JOURNEY & PASSION

venenavi, also known as Thirtsa Sémajuste, is a twenty-four-year-old Haitian-Canadian artist who grew up in Ottawa.

At the age of four, her love for art was ignited, and it blossomed into a lifelong dream career as she grew older. Her heart was captured by the allure of Japanese art after experiencing the enchanting world of Studio Ghibli. Hours upon hours were spent indulging in animated movies, anime, and mangas. Films such as Howl's Moving Castle, the horror artworks of Junji Ito and Sui Ishida, and the iconic Sailor Moon series left a lasting impression on her during her childhood and teen years. These influences kindled her interest in the illustrative form of storytelling, and she grew an intense passion for using art to convey narratives, just like her inspirations had.

In her high school years, her interest in fine arts was born. Her works of art were infused with elements of pop culture that were current at the time. Her passion led to her to view a degree in art as a lustrous achievement. She decided to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Ottawa in her hometown. During her four-year stint, she explored various mediums, fine-tuned her artistic sensibilities and anchored her art. It was during this period that she kindled a passion for acrylic paints on canvas and India ink illustrations.

As April 2020 dawned, venenavi envisioned herself as a free-spirited artist, unchained by the boundaries of a traditional career. She dreamed of exhibiting her creations in galleries, where she could kindle the embers of passion for art in others, just as her own flame had been ignited long ago. Her heart yearned to immerse herself fully in the world of art, weaving her art into the fabric of everyday life.