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

Indeed, Herfeldt is a whiz using sealant applicators, creating intriguing creations out of an unusual substance. Yet the more look at these pieces, the more one notices that an element is a little strange.

Those hefty tubes made of silicone Herfeldt forms stretch over the shelves on which they sit, sagging downwards to the ground. The knotty silicone strands expand until they split. Some creations leave the display cases completely, turning into a collector of debris and fibers. Let's just say the reviews might not get positive.

At times I get this sense that items seem animated in a room,” remarks Herfeldt. This is why I started using this substance as it offers this very bodily feel and appearance.”

Certainly there is an element almost visceral about Herfeldt’s work, from the phallic bulge jutting out, hernia-like, from its cylindrical stand within the showspace, and the winding tubes made of silicone that rupture as if in crisis. Along a surface, are mounted photocopies of the works captured in multiple views: they look like wormy parasites picked up on a microscope, or formations on culture plates.

What captivates me that there are things in our bodies taking place that also have a life of their own,” she says. Phenomena which remain unseen or manage.”

On the subject of things she can’t control, the promotional image featured in the exhibition displays an image of the leaky ceiling within her workspace in Kreuzberg, Berlin. The building had been built in the early 1970s and, she says, faced immediate dislike by local people since many older edifices were torn down for its development. The place was run-down as the artist – who was born in Munich although she spent her youth north of Hamburg prior to moving to the capital during her teens – began using the space.

The rundown building caused issues for the artist – it was risky to display the sculptures without fearing they might be damaged – but it was also compelling. Without any blueprints on hand, nobody had a clue the way to fix the problems that arose. Once an overhead section in Herfeldt’s studio was saturated enough it gave way completely, the single remedy was to replace it with another – and so the cycle continued.

In a different area, she describes the water intrusion was severe that a series of collection units were set up above the false roof to divert the water to a different sink.

I understood that the building resembled an organism, an entirely malfunctioning system,” she says.

These conditions reminded her of the sci-fi movie, the initial work cinematic piece about an AI-powered spacecraft that develops independence. Additionally, observers may note through the heading – three distinct names – that’s not the only film shaping Herfeldt’s show. Those labels point to the female protagonists from a horror classic, another scary movie and Alien respectively. The artist references a 1987 essay from a scholar, that describes the last women standing a distinctive cinematic theme – protagonists by themselves to save the day.

They often display toughness, reserved in nature enabling their survival because she’s quite clever,” says Herfeldt regarding this trope. “They don’t take drugs or have sex. It is irrelevant the audience's identity, everyone can relate to the final girl.”

The artist identifies a connection between these characters with her creations – things that are just about staying put despite the pressures they’re under. Does this mean the art really concerning social breakdown than just dripping roofs? Similar to various systems, such components intended to secure and shield us from damage in fact are decaying around us.

“Completely,” she confirms.

Earlier in her career with sealant applicators, Herfeldt used other unusual materials. Recent shows featured organic-looking pieces using fabric similar to found in on a sleeping bag or apparel lining. Once more, there's the feeling these strange items could come alive – a few are compressed as insects in motion, pieces hang loosely from walls blocking passages attracting dirt from footprints (The artist invites viewers to touch and soil the works). Similar to the foam artworks, those fabric pieces also occupy – leaving – cheap looking acrylic glass boxes. These are unattractive objects, and that's the essence.

“The sculptures exhibit a certain aesthetic that somehow you feel very attracted to, while also appearing gross,” Herfeldt remarks with a smile. “It attempts to seem absent, but it’s actually highly noticeable.”

Herfeldt's goal isn't art to provide ease or visual calm. Instead, she wants you to feel unease, odd, maybe even amused. However, should you notice a moist sensation overhead too, remember the alert was given.