Plush Magic
Plush Magic, a.k.a. Madeleine Cleeve Gerkens, is a textile artist, disability activist and community arts practitioner from Naarm (Melbourne). Plush Magic builds soft sculptures and toys, and facilitates toy-making workshops for people of all ages and abilities. Plush Magic’s textile practice focuses on the therapeutic underpinning of hand sewing, textile and touch. By bringing toys into the exhibition space, Plush Magic subverts the often-unrecognized value of toys in our society. Her works have been shown at No Vacancy Gallery, Rubicon ARI, fortyfivedownstairs, Brunswick St Gallery, Gertrude St Projection Festival Mini, Schoolhouse Studios and more.