🔗 Share this article

When considering restroom upgrades, it might be wise not to choose employing this German artist for the job.

Indeed, she's a whiz with a silicone gun, crafting compelling sculptures out of an unusual art material. But longer you look at the artworks, the clearer you realise a certain aspect is a little unnerving.

Those hefty strands of sealant she produces stretch past the shelves supporting them, sagging over the sides below. The knotty silicone strands swell till they rupture. A few artworks break free from the display cases entirely, turning into an attractor for grime and particles. One could imagine the reviews would not be pretty.

At times I get an impression that items possess life inside an area,” states Herfeldt. This is why I turned to silicone sealant due to its such an organic texture and feeling.”

In fact one can detect somewhat grotesque regarding these sculptures, from the suggestive swelling jutting out, similar to a rupture, from its cylindrical stand within the showspace, and the winding tubes of foam that burst resembling bodily failures. Along a surface, the artist presents prints depicting the sculptures seen from various perspectives: they look like microscopic invaders picked up on a microscope, or formations on a petri-dish.

What captivates me that there are things within us occurring that also have a life of their own,” she says. Phenomena which remain unseen or manage.”

Regarding unmanageable factors, the exhibition advertisement for the show displays a photograph of water damage overhead in her own studio located in Berlin. Constructed made in the seventies and, she says, faced immediate dislike by local people because a lot of old buildings were removed in order to make way for it. The place was in a state of disrepair upon her – a native of that city yet raised north of Hamburg prior to moving to the capital in her youth – began using the space.

The rundown building proved challenging for her work – it was risky to display her art works without fearing they might be damaged – but it was also intriguing. Lacking architectural drawings accessible, no one knew methods to address any of the issues that arose. After a part of the roof in Herfeldt’s studio was saturated enough it collapsed entirely, the only solution involved installing the damaged part – thus repeating the process.

Elsewhere on the property, the artist explains the leaking was so bad that a series of drainage containers were set up above the false roof in order to redirect the moisture elsewhere.

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

These conditions evoked memories of a classic film, the director's first movie from the seventies featuring a smart spaceship that takes on a life of its own. Additionally, observers may note given the naming – three distinct names – that’s not the only film impacting Herfeldt’s show. These titles point to the female protagonists in the slasher film, another scary movie and the extraterrestrial saga in that order. Herfeldt cites a 1987 essay written by Carol J Clover, outlining the last women standing a distinctive cinematic theme – female characters isolated to overcome.

These figures are somewhat masculine, on the silent side and she can survive thanks to resourcefulness,” the artist explains regarding this trope. No drug use occurs or engage intimately. And it doesn’t matter the audience's identity, all empathize with the final girl.”

She draws a similarity from these protagonists and her sculptures – things that are just about maintaining position amidst stress they’re under. Is the exhibition focused on social breakdown than just dripping roofs? As with many structures, such components intended to secure and shield against harm are actually slowly eroding around us.

“Absolutely,” says Herfeldt.

Earlier in her career with sealant applicators, the artist worked with alternative odd mediums. Past displays included forms resembling tongues made from a synthetic material found in on a sleeping bag or apparel lining. Similarly, one finds the impression these strange items could come alive – some are concertinaed as insects in motion, pieces hang loosely from walls blocking passages gathering grime from contact (The artist invites people to handle and dirty her art). Similar to the foam artworks, those fabric pieces are also housed in – leaving – inexpensive-seeming transparent cases. These are unattractive objects, and that's the essence.

“The sculptures exhibit a certain aesthetic that draws viewers very attracted to, while also being quite repulsive,” the artist comments grinning. “The art aims for invisible, but it’s actually extremely obvious.”

Herfeldt is not making art to provide ease or visual calm. Rather, she wants you to feel uncomfortable, awkward, perhaps entertained. But if you start to feel water droplets overhead additionally, consider yourself this was foreshadowed.