🔗 Share this article

When considering washroom remodeling, it's advisable to avoid employing this German artist for such tasks.

Truly, she's highly skilled using sealant applicators, crafting compelling sculptures with a surprising substance. Yet longer you look at her creations, the more one notices that an element feels slightly off.

The dense tubes of sealant she crafts stretch past their supports on which they sit, sagging off the edges below. The knotty foam pipes expand till they rupture. Some creations break free from their transparent enclosures completely, becoming an attractor of debris and fibers. Let's just say the reviews would not be pretty.

There are moments I feel an impression that items seem animated in a room,” states the sculptor. Hence I turned to silicone sealant due to its this very bodily feel and appearance.”

Certainly there is an element somewhat grotesque about the artist's creations, including the phallic bulge which extends, hernia-like, from its cylindrical stand in the centre of the gallery, to the intestinal coils from the material that rupture as if in crisis. Displayed nearby, are mounted prints showing the pieces viewed from different angles: they look like microscopic invaders seen in scientific samples, or formations on a petri-dish.

“It interests me is how certain elements in our bodies occurring that seem to hold a life of their own,” she says. “Things that are invisible or manage.”

Talking of things she can’t control, the poster promoting the event includes a picture showing a dripping roof in her own studio in Kreuzberg, Berlin. Constructed made in the seventies and according to her, faced immediate dislike among the community because a lot of historic structures were torn down in order to make way for it. It was already run-down when Herfeldt – who was born in Munich but grew up in northern Germany before arriving in Berlin as a teenager – began using the space.

This deteriorating space was frustrating to Herfeldt – she couldn’t hang her pieces anxiously potential harm – but it was also compelling. With no building plans on hand, no one knew methods to address the malfunctions which occurred. When the ceiling panel within her workspace was saturated enough it gave way completely, the single remedy was to replace it with another – thus repeating the process.

At another site, Herfeldt says the water intrusion was severe so multiple shower basins were set up above the false roof to divert leaks to another outlet.

“I realised that this place was like a body, an entirely malfunctioning system,” she says.

These conditions brought to mind Dark Star, the initial work 1974 film featuring a smart spaceship that develops independence. Additionally, observers may note given the naming – a trio of references – more movies have inspired shaping this exhibition. Those labels refer to the female protagonists from a horror classic, the iconic thriller and Alien respectively. She mentions an academic paper from a scholar, which identifies these surviving characters a distinctive cinematic theme – female characters isolated to triumph.

They often display toughness, rather quiet and she can survive due to intelligence,” the artist explains about such characters. “They don’t take drugs or have sex. Regardless who is watching, everyone can relate to the final girl.”

Herfeldt sees a parallel from these protagonists to her artworks – things that are just about staying put amidst stress they’re under. So is her work focused on cultural decay than just water damage? Similar to various systems, substances like silicone meant to insulate and guard us from damage are gradually failing around us.

“Oh, totally,” responds the artist.

Earlier in her career with sealant applicators, she experimented with other unusual materials. Previous exhibitions have involved organic-looking pieces crafted from the kind of nylon fabric typical for within outdoor gear or apparel lining. Similarly, one finds the impression such unusual creations seem lifelike – some are concertinaed like caterpillars mid-crawl, some droop heavily from walls blocking passages attracting dirt from footprints (She prompts viewers to touch and dirty her art). Like the silicone sculptures, these nylon creations are similarly displayed in – leaving – budget-style display enclosures. These are unattractive objects, and really that’s the point.

“These works possess a particular style which makes one very attracted to, and at the same time they’re very disgusting,” she says amusedly. “It tries to be invisible, yet in reality highly noticeable.”

The artist does not create pieces that offer relaxation or visual calm. Instead, she wants you to feel uncomfortable, awkward, or even humor. And if there's water droplets overhead as well, remember the alert was given.