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If you're planning washroom remodeling, it's advisable not to choose employing this German artist for such tasks.

Indeed, she's an expert using sealant applicators, crafting intriguing creations from this unlikely medium. Yet longer you look at these pieces, the more it becomes apparent a certain aspect feels slightly strange.

Those hefty lengths of sealant Herfeldt forms stretch beyond the shelves on which they sit, sagging off the edges below. Those twisted foam pipes bulge till they rupture. Certain pieces break free from the display cases fully, turning into an attractor for dust and hair. One could imagine the reviews are unlikely to earn pretty.

There are moments I feel an impression that things possess life in a room,” remarks Herfeldt. This is why I turned to this foam material due to its a distinctly physical feel and appearance.”

Indeed there is an element almost visceral regarding the artist's creations, from the suggestive swelling which extends, like a medical condition, from the support in the centre of the gallery, or the gut-like spirals made of silicone that rupture like medical emergencies. Displayed nearby, are mounted photocopies depicting the sculptures captured in multiple views: resembling squirming organisms seen in scientific samples, or growths in a lab setting.

I am fascinated by is the idea in our bodies taking place that also have their own life,” Herfeldt explains. Elements which remain unseen or manage.”

Regarding elements beyond her influence, the promotional image promoting the event features a picture showing a dripping roof within her workspace in the German capital. The building had been made in the seventies as she explains, faced immediate dislike from residents since many older edifices were torn down for its development. The place was dilapidated as the artist – who was born in Munich but grew up near Hamburg prior to moving to the capital as a teenager – began using the space.

This deteriorating space was frustrating to Herfeldt – she couldn’t hang the sculptures anxiously they might be damaged – but it was also fascinating. With no building plans accessible, nobody had a clue the way to fix the malfunctions which occurred. After a part of the roof in Herfeldt’s studio became so sodden it fell apart fully, the single remedy meant swapping the damaged part – thus repeating the process.

At another site, Herfeldt says the leaking was so bad so multiple collection units got placed within the drop ceiling in order to redirect the moisture elsewhere.

I understood that this place resembled an organism, a totally dysfunctional body,” the artist comments.

These conditions evoked memories of a classic film, John Carpenter’s debut cinematic piece featuring a smart spaceship which becomes autonomous. And as you might notice from the show’s title – three distinct names – that’s not the only film to have influenced Herfeldt’s show. These titles indicate the female protagonists in Friday 13th, Halloween plus the sci-fi hit as listed. She mentions an academic paper from a scholar, that describes these surviving characters a distinctive cinematic theme – women left alone to overcome.

“She’s a bit tomboyish, reserved in nature and she can survive because she’s quite clever,” she elaborates of the archetypal final girl. “They don’t take drugs or engage intimately. Regardless who is watching, all empathize with the final girl.”

She draws a connection between these characters with her creations – elements that barely staying put under strain affecting them. So is her work more about cultural decay than just dripping roofs? Similar to various systems, these materials meant to insulate and guard from deterioration are gradually failing in our environment.

“Completely,” responds the artist.

Earlier in her career with sealant applicators, she experimented with different unconventional substances. Recent shows featured forms resembling tongues crafted from the kind of nylon fabric typical for within outdoor gear or in coats. Again there is the impression such unusual creations might animate – some are concertinaed as insects in motion, some droop heavily from walls blocking passages collecting debris from touch (She prompts audiences to interact and soil the works). Similar to the foam artworks, these nylon creations are similarly displayed in – and breaking out of – budget-style acrylic glass boxes. The pieces are deliberately unappealing, which is intentional.

“The sculptures exhibit a particular style that draws viewers highly drawn to, yet simultaneously they’re very disgusting,” she says with a smile. “The art aims for invisible, however, it is very present.”

The artist does not create art to provide comfortable or beauty. Conversely, her intention is to evoke uncomfortable, strange, maybe even amused. But if you start to feel a moist sensation on your head additionally, don’t say you haven’t been warned.