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When considering restroom upgrades, it's advisable to steer clear of engaging this German artist to handle it.

Certainly, she's an expert using sealant applicators, creating intriguing sculptures from this unlikely medium. Yet the more observe these pieces, the more you realise that an element is a little off.

Those hefty strands from the foam Herfeldt forms stretch over their supports on which they sit, drooping over the sides below. The knotty tubular forms bulge before bursting open. Certain pieces break free from the display cases completely, becoming a collector for dust and hair. Let's just say the feedback might not get favorable.

There are moments I feel the feeling that things seem animated inside an area,” says Herfeldt. “That’s why I turned to this substance as it offers this very bodily sensation and look.”

In fact there is an element rather body horror about Herfeldt’s work, including the phallic bulge which extends, similar to a rupture, off its base at the exhibition's heart, to the intestinal coils made of silicone which split open as if in crisis. Along a surface, the artist presents photocopies of the works seen from various perspectives: resembling wormy parasites seen in scientific samples, or formations in a lab setting.

What captivates me is how certain elements inside human forms happening that seem to hold their own life,” Herfeldt explains. “Things that are invisible or control.”

Regarding unmanageable factors, the promotional image promoting the event features a picture of water damage overhead at her creative space located in Berlin. Constructed erected decades ago as she explains, faced immediate dislike by local people since many historic structures were torn down to allow its construction. The place was run-down as the artist – originally from Munich but grew up near Hamburg before arriving in Berlin in her youth – took up residence.

This deteriorating space proved challenging for the artist – it was risky to display the sculptures anxiously they might be damaged – however, it was intriguing. With no building plans available, it was unclear how to repair any of the issues which occurred. Once an overhead section in Herfeldt’s studio was saturated enough it collapsed entirely, the sole fix involved installing the panel with a new one – thus repeating the process.

In a different area, she describes dripping was extreme so multiple collection units got placed in the suspended ceiling to channel leaks to another outlet.

“I realised that this place resembled an organism, an entirely malfunctioning system,” the artist comments.

These conditions evoked memories of a classic film, the director's first 1974 film concerning a conscious ship that takes on a life of its own. Additionally, observers may note through the heading – Alice, Laurie & Ripley – that’s not the only film impacting Herfeldt’s show. These titles refer to main characters in Friday 13th, the iconic thriller plus the sci-fi hit respectively. She mentions a critical analysis by the American professor, that describes these surviving characters as a unique film trope – women left alone to save the day.

They often display toughness, reserved in nature and they endure because she’s quite clever,” says Herfeldt about such characters. They avoid substances nor sexual activity. It is irrelevant the viewer’s gender, we can all identify with the survivor.”

She draws a parallel between these characters with her creations – elements that barely maintaining position despite the pressures they face. Does this mean the art really concerning societal collapse than just water damage? Because like so many institutions, these materials that should seal and protect from deterioration are gradually failing around us.

“Completely,” says Herfeldt.

Before finding inspiration using foam materials, she experimented with alternative odd mediums. Past displays featured forms resembling tongues crafted from fabric similar to typical for on a sleeping bag or apparel lining. Again there is the impression such unusual creations seem lifelike – a few are compressed resembling moving larvae, some droop heavily on vertical planes or extend through entries attracting dirt from footprints (She prompts viewers to touch and dirty her art). Like the silicone sculptures, those fabric pieces are also housed in – and escaping from – cheap looking acrylic glass boxes. These are unattractive objects, which is intentional.

“The sculptures exhibit a specific look that somehow you feel compelled by, yet simultaneously being quite repulsive,” Herfeldt remarks amusedly. “It tries to be not there, yet in reality highly noticeable.”

The artist does not create pieces that offer relaxation or aesthetically soothed. Instead, her intention is to evoke uncomfortable, awkward, or even humor. And if there's something wet dripping on your head as well, remember you haven’t been warned.