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When considering washroom remodeling, it's advisable not to choose employing this German artist to handle it.

Indeed, she's highly skilled in handling foam materials, producing fascinating sculptures with a surprising art material. However longer you examine the artworks, the stronger one notices a certain aspect feels slightly unnerving.

Those hefty tubes of sealant she crafts stretch past the shelves supporting them, hanging downwards towards the floor. The gnarled silicone strands expand till they rupture. A few artworks break free from their acrylic glass box homes fully, turning into a collector for grime and particles. One could imagine the ratings are unlikely to earn favorable.

There are moments I feel this sense that items possess life inside an area,” remarks the German artist. Hence I came to use this substance due to its this very bodily feel and appearance.”

Certainly one can detect almost visceral regarding these sculptures, including the phallic bulge which extends, like a medical condition, off its base at the exhibition's heart, or the gut-like spirals made of silicone that burst resembling bodily failures. Displayed nearby, are mounted photocopies depicting the sculptures seen from various perspectives: they look like squirming organisms observed under magnification, or formations in a lab setting.

What captivates me that there are things inside human forms taking place that also have independent existence,” the artist notes. Phenomena you can’t see or manage.”

Regarding elements beyond her influence, the exhibition advertisement featured in the exhibition displays a picture of water damage overhead within her workspace located in Berlin. It was erected decades ago as she explains, was quickly despised by local people as numerous old buildings were torn down to allow its construction. It was already run-down as the artist – who was born in Munich although she spent her youth in northern Germany then relocating to Berlin during her teens – moved in.

The rundown building caused issues for her work – it was risky to display the sculptures anxiously risk of ruin – however, it was fascinating. Without any blueprints available, no one knew methods to address the malfunctions that arose. Once an overhead section within her workspace became so sodden it fell apart fully, the single remedy involved installing the panel with a new one – thus repeating the process.

Elsewhere on the property, the artist explains the leaking was so bad that a series of shower basins were installed above the false roof to divert the moisture elsewhere.

“I realised that this place acted as a physical form, an entirely malfunctioning system,” the artist comments.

This scenario reminded her of a classic film, John Carpenter’s debut cinematic piece featuring a smart spaceship that takes on a life of its own. And as you might notice through the heading – three distinct names – more movies have inspired to have influenced Herfeldt’s show. The three names refer to the female protagonists in Friday 13th, Halloween plus the sci-fi hit respectively. She mentions a critical analysis written by Carol J Clover, which identifies these surviving characters as a unique film trope – protagonists by themselves to overcome.

“She’s a bit tomboyish, reserved in nature and she can survive due to intelligence,” says Herfeldt about such characters. They avoid substances nor sexual activity. It is irrelevant who is watching, we can all identify with this character.”

She draws a parallel from these protagonists with her creations – elements that barely holding in place despite the pressures they face. So is her work focused on social breakdown than just leaky ceilings? Because like so many institutions, substances like silicone that should seal and protect us from damage in fact are decaying within society.

“Completely,” she confirms.

Before finding inspiration with sealant applicators, she experimented with alternative odd mediums. Past displays included organic-looking pieces crafted from fabric similar to typical for within outdoor gear or in coats. Again there is the impression these peculiar objects seem lifelike – some are concertinaed like caterpillars mid-crawl, some droop heavily off surfaces or spill across doorways collecting debris from touch (Herfeldt encourages people to handle and dirty her art). As with earlier creations, these nylon creations are similarly displayed in – and breaking out of – cheap looking acrylic glass boxes. The pieces are deliberately unappealing, and really that’s the point.

“These works possess a particular style that somehow you feel compelled by, while also appearing gross,” she says amusedly. “The art aims for invisible, but it’s actually very present.”

Herfeldt is not making work to make you feel ease or beauty. Instead, she wants you to feel uncomfortable, awkward, maybe even amused. And if there's water droplets overhead too, remember this was foreshadowed.