Just over 2 months ago now, our Larapinta Trekkers returned from their inspiring experience in the Central Australian desert. Two trekkers, Jo and Jimbo, share a love for painting and expressed their experiences through artworks of the Larapinta.

Tomorrow, their gallery, Punch Street Studio, will be exhibiting these works with proceeds donated to Shake It Up.

We spoke to Jo about the experience in the Larapinta and her creative outlet through painting.

A diagnosis of Parkinson’s is certainly life-changing for the recipient, family and friends. Life goes slower, anxiety about the future increases and skills decline. It is hard to watch this happen to a loved one and must be almost unbearable for the patient. It is not, however, terminal and something else will get us all in the end. Today, a lot of research is going into the causes of and treatment for Parkinson’s Disease and, for those for whom a cure will come too late, there is a strong network of support and information.

When our daughter Sarah suggested we do the Trek for Treatment with Shake-it-up-Australia and our son Robbie agreed to make it a family team, Jim and I said “yes” to hiking the Larapinta trail in August 2019 as a fundraiser for Shake-it-up-Australia.

This trek on the Larapinta Trail in Central Australia is the inspiration for Punch Street Studio’s upcoming exhibition “Sense of Space”.

For the artist, the outback landscapes invoke a yearning for simpler times, quiet moments and open spaces. Walking the spare, vast, rugged terrain provides the setting for evocative paintings that are a genuinely personal experience, a vast landscape beautiful and terrifying that creates a sense of nostalgia, a feeling that we’re looking at a world that’s lost to us. The colours are unrestrained, enveloping the scenes in a hot timeless prehistoric light. We are made aware of the awesomeness of nature and the insignificance of the human figure within it. Challenging enough for any adventurer but more so for those living with Parkinson’s Disease.

Our individual experiences were expressed in campfire confessions, diary entries, poetry, photography and painting.
This is an exhibition in gratitude for the opportunities available to test our courage, to experience the raw beauty of our national heritage and to be part of a humanity that supports institutions like Shake It Up.

For more information visit their website