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Should you be thinking about washroom remodeling, it's advisable not to choose hiring the sculptor to handle it.

Certainly, Herfeldt is an expert using sealant applicators, crafting intriguing artworks from this unlikely medium. But the more observe her creations, the more one notices that something seems somewhat off.

The dense lengths from the foam she crafts stretch beyond their supports where they rest, hanging over the sides below. The knotty foam pipes bulge until they split. Some creations escape their transparent enclosures completely, turning into a magnet for dust and hair. Let's just say the ratings would not be pretty.

“I sometimes have this sense that things are alive within a space,” states the German artist. This is why I started using this foam material due to its such an organic sensation and look.”

Certainly there’s something somewhat grotesque about these sculptures, from the suggestive swelling that protrudes, similar to a rupture, from the support within the showspace, or the gut-like spirals made of silicone that rupture as if in crisis. Displayed nearby, are mounted prints showing the pieces seen from various perspectives: they look like squirming organisms picked up on a microscope, or formations in a lab setting.

What captivates me is the idea in our bodies happening that also have a life of their own,” she says. Phenomena that are invisible or control.”

Talking of unmanageable factors, the poster featured in the exhibition features a picture of the leaky ceiling at her creative space located in Berlin. It was made in the seventies and, she says, was quickly despised among the community since many old buildings were torn down to allow its construction. It was already dilapidated when Herfeldt – a native of that city yet raised in northern Germany then relocating to Berlin during her teens – took up residence.

This deteriorating space proved challenging to Herfeldt – she couldn’t hang her art works without concern potential harm – but it was also fascinating. Without any blueprints available, nobody had a clue how to repair the problems that developed. When the ceiling panel in Herfeldt’s studio was saturated enough it gave way completely, the sole fix was to replace the panel with a new one – thus repeating the process.

Elsewhere on the property, she describes the leaking was so bad that several drainage containers were set up above the false roof to channel the water to a different sink.

“I realised that this place resembled an organism, a totally dysfunctional body,” Herfeldt states.

The situation evoked memories of a classic film, the initial work movie from the seventies featuring a smart spaceship that develops independence. And as you might notice given the naming – Alice, Laurie & Ripley – other cinematic works influenced shaping this exhibition. The three names refer to the leading women in the slasher film, Halloween plus the sci-fi hit respectively. Herfeldt cites a 1987 essay from a scholar, that describes the last women standing an original movie concept – protagonists by themselves to overcome.

These figures are somewhat masculine, rather quiet enabling their survival thanks to resourcefulness,” says Herfeldt of the archetypal final girl. “They don’t take drugs or have sex. And it doesn’t matter who is watching, we can all identify with this character.”

She draws a connection from these protagonists and her sculptures – things that are just about maintaining position despite the pressures they’re under. So is her work focused on cultural decay rather than simply water damage? As with many structures, such components meant to insulate and guard us from damage in fact are decaying around us.

“Oh, totally,” responds the artist.

Before finding inspiration with sealant applicators, she experimented with different unconventional substances. Recent shows featured tongue-like shapes crafted from the kind of nylon fabric you might see within outdoor gear or in coats. Once more, there's the impression these peculiar objects might animate – certain pieces are folded as insects in motion, others lollop down on vertical planes or extend through entries attracting dirt from footprints (The artist invites viewers to touch and dirty her art). Similar to the foam artworks, these nylon creations also occupy – and breaking out of – inexpensive-seeming transparent cases. The pieces are deliberately unappealing, and really that’s the point.

“These works possess a certain aesthetic that draws viewers compelled by, while also being quite repulsive,” she says grinning. “It tries to be absent, however, it is very present.”

Herfeldt is not making work to make you feel comfortable or aesthetically soothed. Rather, she aims for uncomfortable, awkward, or even humor. However, should you notice water droplets overhead too, remember you haven’t been warned.