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Should you be thinking about washroom remodeling, you may want to steer clear of hiring this German artist to handle it.

Indeed, Herfeldt is an expert using sealant applicators, producing compelling creations with a surprising art material. But as you look at the artworks, the more it becomes apparent that an element is a little strange.

The dense lengths of sealant she crafts extend beyond their supports supporting them, drooping off the edges towards the floor. The knotty silicone strands swell till they rupture. Some creations escape the display cases entirely, becoming a collector for grime and particles. Let's just say the feedback might not get favorable.

“I sometimes have an impression that objects possess life within a space,” remarks the sculptor. Hence I started using silicone sealant because it has such an organic texture and feeling.”

In fact there’s something almost visceral in the artist's creations, starting with 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 rupture resembling bodily failures. Along a surface, the artist presents prints showing the pieces seen from various perspectives: resembling wormy parasites seen in scientific samples, or formations on culture plates.

I am fascinated by that there are things in our bodies taking place that also have a life of their own,” she says. Phenomena that are invisible or manage.”

On the subject of unmanageable factors, the promotional image for the show features an image of water damage overhead within her workspace located in Berlin. The building had been erected decades ago as she explains, was quickly despised among the community because a lot of older edifices got demolished to allow its construction. By the time dilapidated as the artist – who was born in Munich but grew up north of Hamburg before arriving in Berlin as a teenager – took up residence.

The rundown building was frustrating for the artist – it was risky to display the sculptures without fearing they might be damaged – but it was also intriguing. Lacking architectural drawings available, no one knew the way to fix any of the issues that developed. Once an overhead section in Herfeldt’s studio got thoroughly soaked it collapsed entirely, the only solution was to replace the panel with a new one – and so the cycle continued.

In a different area, Herfeldt says the water intrusion was severe so multiple shower basins were set up within the drop ceiling in order to redirect the water to a different sink.

I understood that the building was like a body, a completely flawed entity,” she says.

These conditions reminded her of a classic film, the director's first 1974 film about an AI-powered spacecraft which becomes autonomous. As the exhibition's title suggests through the heading – Alice, Laurie & Ripley – other cinematic works influenced impacting this exhibition. These titles indicate the female protagonists from a horror classic, another scary movie and Alien as listed. Herfeldt cites a critical analysis from a scholar, that describes the last women standing a distinctive cinematic theme – female characters isolated to save the day.

These figures are somewhat masculine, reserved in nature enabling their survival because she’s quite clever,” she elaborates of the archetypal final girl. No drug use occurs or have sex. It is irrelevant who is watching, we can all identify with the survivor.”

Herfeldt sees a similarity between these characters to her artworks – things that are just about maintaining position amidst stress they face. So is her work really concerning social breakdown than just water damage? As with many structures, substances like silicone meant to insulate and guard against harm in fact are decaying in our environment.

“Completely,” she confirms.

Earlier in her career using foam materials, she experimented with different unconventional substances. Past displays have involved tongue-like shapes using a synthetic material found in within outdoor gear or inside a jacket. Similarly, one finds the feeling such unusual creations could come alive – some are concertinaed like caterpillars mid-crawl, others lollop down from walls or extend through entries attracting dirt from footprints (She prompts people to handle and dirty her art). Like the silicone sculptures, these nylon creations are also housed in – and escaping from – cheap looking transparent cases. They’re ugly looking things, and really that’s the point.

“These works possess a particular style that somehow you feel highly drawn to, while also appearing gross,” Herfeldt remarks amusedly. “The art aims for absent, however, it is extremely obvious.”

Herfeldt is not making work to make you feel comfortable or visual calm. Conversely, she wants you to feel uncomfortable, awkward, perhaps entertained. And if there's a moist sensation on your head additionally, consider yourself this was foreshadowed.