The Richard F. Brush Art Gallery at St. Lawrence University is hosting an exhibition titled "On Parkinson’s: Three Artists’ Journeys" from October 20 to December 11, featuring works by Kristin Rehder, C. David Thomas, and Torrance York. Each artist uses photography and printmaking to explore their personal experiences with Parkinson’s disease: York’s "Semaphore" project uses metaphorical photographs to document her diagnosis in 2015; Thomas’s "FINDING PARKINSON’S, Doing Battle with My Brain" combines MRI scans, selfies, and lithographs; and Rehder’s "TREMOR" employs a slow shutter to transform her body’s tremors into creative energy.
This exhibition matters because it brings a human-centered perspective to a rapidly growing global health crisis—Parkinson’s disease affects over 10 million people worldwide, with 1.2 million cases projected in the U.S. by 2030. By foregrounding the artists’ subjective experiences, the show challenges viewers to move beyond clinical understandings of the disease and consider its emotional and creative dimensions, reinforcing the role of art in fostering empathy and interdisciplinary dialogue at a university known for championing such learning.