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Should you be thinking about restroom upgrades, it's advisable to steer clear of employing this German artist to handle it.

Certainly, she's highly skilled in handling foam materials, crafting compelling creations with a surprising substance. Yet the more look at her creations, the more it becomes apparent that something feels slightly unnerving.

The thick strands of sealant she crafts extend past their supports on which they sit, hanging over the sides to the ground. Those twisted silicone strands swell till they rupture. Certain pieces escape their transparent enclosures completely, evolving into an attractor for dust and hair. It's safe to say the reviews would not be favorable.

At times I get the feeling that items possess life inside an area,” remarks the sculptor. This is why I turned to this substance because it has such an organic feel and appearance.”

In fact one can detect almost visceral about these sculptures, starting with the suggestive swelling that protrudes, hernia-like, from the support within the showspace, to the intestinal coils of foam that rupture as if in crisis. On one wall, Herfeldt has framed prints depicting the sculptures captured in multiple views: they look like microscopic invaders picked up on a microscope, or growths in a lab setting.

I am fascinated by is how certain elements within us taking place that seem to hold their own life,” she says. Phenomena that are invisible or manage.”

On the subject of things she can’t control, the promotional image promoting the event displays a picture of the leaky ceiling within her workspace in the German capital. The building had been built in the early 1970s and, she says, was quickly despised from residents because a lot of historic structures were removed to allow its construction. The place was dilapidated as the artist – originally from Munich although she spent her youth in northern Germany prior to moving to the capital during her teens – began using the space.

The rundown building was frustrating to Herfeldt – it was risky to display her art works without concern risk of ruin – but it was also intriguing. Without any blueprints on hand, no one knew the way to fix any of the issues that arose. After a part of the roof within her workspace became so sodden it collapsed entirely, the only solution meant swapping the damaged part – thus repeating the process.

At another site, she describes dripping was extreme so multiple shower basins were set up in the suspended ceiling to divert leaks to another outlet.

I understood that the building acted as a physical form, a completely flawed entity,” Herfeldt states.

These conditions evoked memories of Dark Star, the initial work 1974 film about an AI-powered spacecraft that develops independence. Additionally, observers may note through the heading – Alice, Laurie & Ripley – other cinematic works influenced impacting the artist's presentation. The three names point to the female protagonists in Friday 13th, the iconic thriller and Alien as listed. She mentions a 1987 essay by the American professor, outlining these surviving characters a distinctive cinematic theme – women left alone to overcome.

“She’s a bit tomboyish, on the silent side enabling their survival thanks to resourcefulness,” she elaborates of the archetypal final girl. They avoid substances or have sex. Regardless the viewer’s gender, we can all identify with the final girl.”

The artist identifies a connection from these protagonists with her creations – things that are just about holding in place amidst stress affecting them. Is the exhibition focused on societal collapse rather than simply dripping roofs? As with many structures, these materials meant to insulate and guard us from damage are actually slowly eroding around us.

“Completely,” responds the artist.

Before finding inspiration in the silicone gun, Herfeldt used other unusual materials. Past displays featured tongue-like shapes made from fabric similar to typical for within outdoor gear or apparel lining. Similarly, one finds the impression such unusual creations could come alive – certain pieces are folded like caterpillars mid-crawl, pieces hang loosely off surfaces or extend through entries gathering grime from contact (She prompts viewers to touch and dirty her art). As with earlier creations, the textile works also occupy – and escaping from – budget-style transparent cases. The pieces are deliberately unappealing, and that's the essence.

“They have a specific look that somehow you feel compelled by, yet simultaneously appearing gross,” the artist comments amusedly. “The art aims for invisible, however, it is extremely obvious.”

Herfeldt's goal isn't pieces that offer ease or aesthetically soothed. Rather, she wants you to feel unease, odd, maybe even amused. And if there's water droplets on your head as well, remember you haven’t been warned.