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Should you be thinking about restroom upgrades, you may want to avoid engaging this German artist for such tasks.

Truly, she's highly skilled using sealant applicators, producing fascinating sculptures from this unlikely art material. But the more observe her creations, the stronger it becomes apparent that an element feels slightly off.

The dense lengths made of silicone Herfeldt forms stretch beyond their supports where they rest, hanging over the sides towards the floor. The gnarled tubular forms swell till they rupture. A few artworks leave their transparent enclosures completely, turning into a magnet of debris and fibers. One could imagine the ratings would not be pretty.

At times I get an impression that items possess life within a space,” says the German artist. This is why I started using this foam material because it has this very bodily texture and feeling.”

Certainly there’s something somewhat grotesque about Herfeldt’s work, starting with the suggestive swelling that protrudes, similar to a rupture, from the support within the showspace, and the winding tubes from the material which split open as if in crisis. On one wall, the artist presents prints of the works viewed from different angles: appearing as wormy parasites seen in scientific samples, or growths in a lab setting.

I am fascinated by is how certain elements in our bodies happening that seem to hold their own life,” the artist notes. Elements which remain unseen or manage.”

Regarding things she can’t control, the exhibition advertisement promoting the event includes a photograph of water damage overhead at her creative space located in Berlin. The building had been built in the early 1970s as she explains, was quickly despised by local people because a lot of old buildings got demolished in order to make way for it. The place was run-down when Herfeldt – a native of that city yet raised in northern Germany prior to moving to the capital as a teenager – moved in.

This decrepit property caused issues to Herfeldt – placing artworks was difficult her art works without fearing risk of ruin – however, it was intriguing. Lacking architectural drawings on hand, no one knew the way to fix the malfunctions that developed. Once an overhead section within her workspace became so sodden it collapsed entirely, the single remedy was to replace the panel with a new one – perpetuating the issue.

At another site, Herfeldt says the water intrusion was severe that several shower basins were installed above the false roof in order to redirect the moisture elsewhere.

It dawned on me that the building resembled an organism, a totally dysfunctional body,” the artist comments.

These conditions brought to mind Dark Star, John Carpenter’s debut 1974 film featuring a smart spaceship that develops independence. As the exhibition's title suggests through the heading – three distinct names – that’s not the only film to have influenced the artist's presentation. The three names point to the female protagonists in Friday 13th, the iconic thriller plus the sci-fi hit in that order. Herfeldt cites a critical analysis by the American professor, that describes the last women standing as a unique film trope – women left alone to triumph.

These figures are somewhat masculine, on the silent side enabling their survival due to intelligence,” she elaborates of the archetypal final girl. They avoid substances or engage intimately. Regardless who is watching, we can all identify with the survivor.”

Herfeldt sees a connection between these characters to her artworks – things that are just about staying put amidst stress affecting them. Does this mean the art focused on social breakdown rather than simply dripping roofs? Similar to various systems, substances like silicone meant to insulate and guard us from damage are gradually failing within society.

“Absolutely,” she confirms.

Earlier in her career with sealant applicators, she experimented with other unusual materials. Previous exhibitions have involved organic-looking pieces using a synthetic material found in in insulated clothing or inside a jacket. Similarly, one finds the sense such unusual creations seem lifelike – some are concertinaed resembling moving larvae, some droop heavily on vertical planes blocking passages collecting debris from touch (Herfeldt encourages viewers to touch and soil the works). As with earlier creations, those fabric pieces also occupy – and escaping from – inexpensive-seeming acrylic glass boxes. These are unattractive objects, which is intentional.

“They have a particular style that somehow you feel highly drawn to, yet simultaneously appearing gross,” she says with a smile. “It tries to be not there, but it’s actually very present.”

The artist does not create pieces that offer ease or aesthetically soothed. Conversely, her intention is to evoke unease, awkward, or even humor. And if there's water droplets overhead as well, remember the alert was given.