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If you're planning washroom remodeling, it's advisable to steer clear of employing the sculptor for such tasks.

Certainly, Herfeldt is an expert using sealant applicators, creating fascinating creations from this unlikely medium. But as you observe her creations, the stronger it becomes apparent that an element feels slightly strange.

Those hefty strands of sealant Herfeldt forms reach over the shelves supporting them, hanging downwards towards the floor. The knotty silicone strands expand till they rupture. Some creations leave the display cases fully, evolving into an attractor for grime and particles. Let's just say the ratings would not be pretty.

“I sometimes have an impression that things possess life inside an area,” remarks the sculptor. “That’s why I came to use silicone sealant due to its this very bodily sensation and look.”

Certainly one can detect somewhat grotesque in these sculptures, including that protruding shape which extends, like a medical condition, from the support within the showspace, to the intestinal coils from the material that rupture like medical emergencies. On one wall, are mounted images of the works captured in multiple views: appearing as squirming organisms picked up on a microscope, or formations on culture plates.

What captivates me is how certain elements within us taking place which possess independent existence,” the artist notes. “Things you can’t see or manage.”

Regarding unmanageable factors, the poster featured in the exhibition features an image showing a dripping roof within her workspace in Kreuzberg, Berlin. The building had been made in the seventies and, she says, was instantly hated from residents since many older edifices were removed for its development. It was already in a state of disrepair upon her – who was born in Munich although she spent her youth north of Hamburg prior to moving to the capital as a teenager – began using the space.

This deteriorating space proved challenging for the artist – she couldn’t hang her pieces anxiously they might be damaged – yet it also proved intriguing. Without any blueprints on hand, nobody had a clue methods to address the problems which occurred. After a part of the roof in Herfeldt’s studio got thoroughly soaked it collapsed entirely, the single remedy involved installing it with another – thus repeating the process.

At another site, she describes dripping was extreme so multiple collection units were installed within the drop ceiling to channel the moisture elsewhere.

“I realised that the building was like a body, an entirely malfunctioning system,” the artist comments.

These conditions evoked memories of the sci-fi movie, John Carpenter’s debut 1974 film featuring a smart spaceship that develops independence. Additionally, observers may note given the naming – Alice, Laurie & Ripley – that’s not the only film impacting the artist's presentation. Those labels refer to main characters from a horror classic, Halloween plus the sci-fi hit respectively. Herfeldt cites a critical analysis from a scholar, which identifies these surviving characters a distinctive cinematic theme – women left alone to triumph.

“She’s a bit tomboyish, reserved in nature and they endure thanks to resourcefulness,” she elaborates about such characters. No drug use occurs or have sex. It is irrelevant the audience's identity, everyone can relate to the survivor.”

She draws a connection between these characters to her artworks – things that are just about maintaining position amidst stress affecting them. So is her work really concerning societal collapse rather than simply water damage? As with many structures, such components meant to insulate and guard us from damage in fact are decaying within society.

“Absolutely,” says Herfeldt.

Before finding inspiration in the silicone gun, she experimented with other unusual materials. Previous exhibitions included tongue-like shapes using a synthetic material typical for in insulated clothing or inside a jacket. Once more, there's the sense these strange items could come alive – some are concertinaed resembling moving larvae, pieces hang loosely on vertical planes blocking passages collecting debris from touch (She prompts viewers to touch and soil the works). As with earlier creations, the textile works also occupy – leaving – cheap looking acrylic glass boxes. These are unattractive objects, and really that’s the point.

“These works possess a particular style which makes one compelled by, yet simultaneously they’re very disgusting,” the artist comments grinning. “The art aims for absent, yet in reality extremely obvious.”

The artist does not create work to make you feel comfortable or beauty. Rather, she wants you to feel discomfort, awkward, or even humor. And if there's a moist sensation from above additionally, remember this was foreshadowed.