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When considering washroom remodeling, you may want to avoid employing the sculptor to handle it.

Certainly, she's highly skilled using sealant applicators, creating fascinating sculptures out of an unusual art material. But the more observe these pieces, the more you realise that an element is a little strange.

The dense lengths of sealant Herfeldt forms extend over the shelves where they rest, sagging downwards towards the floor. Those twisted foam pipes swell before bursting open. Certain pieces break free from the display cases fully, turning into an attractor for dust and hair. It's safe to say the feedback might not get pretty.

There are moments I feel this sense that items possess life inside an area,” states the sculptor. Hence I came to use silicone sealant due to its this very bodily sensation and look.”

Certainly there is an element almost visceral in these sculptures, starting with the phallic bulge which extends, like a medical condition, from the support within the showspace, and the winding tubes made of silicone that burst like medical emergencies. Along a surface, are mounted images showing the pieces captured in multiple views: they look like microscopic invaders seen in scientific samples, or growths in a lab setting.

“It interests me is how certain elements within us taking place that seem to hold a life of their own,” the artist notes. “Things that are invisible or manage.”

Talking of elements beyond her influence, the promotional image promoting the event includes a picture showing a dripping roof within her workspace located in Berlin. Constructed made in the seventies as she explains, was instantly hated from residents as numerous older edifices got demolished to allow its construction. By the time run-down when Herfeldt – a native of that city but grew up near Hamburg before arriving in Berlin in her youth – began using the space.

This decrepit property caused issues for her work – placing artworks was difficult her art works without fearing potential harm – yet it also proved fascinating. With no building plans available, nobody had a clue methods to address any of the issues that arose. Once an overhead section in Herfeldt’s studio got thoroughly soaked it fell apart fully, the only solution meant swapping the damaged part – perpetuating the issue.

In a different area, the artist explains dripping was extreme so multiple drainage containers were installed in the suspended ceiling in order to redirect leaks to another outlet.

It dawned on me that this place resembled an organism, an entirely malfunctioning system,” the artist comments.

These conditions brought to mind a classic film, the initial work movie from the seventies featuring a smart spaceship that takes on a life of its own. Additionally, observers may note from the show’s title – Alice, Laurie & Ripley – other cinematic works influenced to have influenced this exhibition. The three names refer to the female protagonists in Friday 13th, Halloween and the extraterrestrial saga respectively. She mentions a 1987 essay from a scholar, which identifies these surviving characters an original movie concept – women left alone to save the day.

They often display toughness, on the silent side and she can survive because she’s quite clever,” she elaborates regarding this trope. “They don’t take drugs or engage intimately. It is irrelevant who is watching, everyone can relate to this character.”

The artist identifies a similarity between these characters to her artworks – objects which only holding in place under strain they face. Is the exhibition focused on societal collapse rather than simply water damage? As with many structures, these materials that should seal and protect from deterioration are actually slowly eroding in our environment.

“Oh, totally,” responds the artist.

Earlier in her career with sealant applicators, the artist worked with other unusual materials. Recent shows included organic-looking pieces made from fabric similar to found in on a sleeping bag or apparel lining. Once more, there's the feeling these peculiar objects might animate – certain pieces are folded like caterpillars mid-crawl, others lollop down on vertical planes or extend through entries collecting debris from touch (Herfeldt encourages audiences to interact and soil the works). Like the silicone sculptures, the textile works also occupy – leaving – inexpensive-seeming transparent cases. They’re ugly looking things, which is intentional.

“The sculptures exhibit a particular style that somehow you feel highly drawn to, and at the same time being quite repulsive,” Herfeldt remarks with a smile. “It tries to be invisible, however, it is extremely obvious.”

The artist does not create art to provide comfortable or visual calm. Rather, she aims for discomfort, odd, or even humor. However, should you notice a moist sensation overhead additionally, consider yourself you haven’t been warned.