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When considering restroom upgrades, you may want not to choose engaging the sculptor for such tasks.

Indeed, Herfeldt is a whiz using sealant applicators, producing compelling creations out of an unusual art material. But longer you observe the artworks, the clearer you realise that something seems somewhat off.

The thick tubes made of silicone Herfeldt forms extend over the shelves on which they sit, drooping downwards below. The knotty tubular forms swell till they rupture. Some creations leave their acrylic glass box homes fully, becoming a collector for dust and hair. One could imagine the feedback would not be positive.

“I sometimes have the feeling that items possess life within a space,” says the sculptor. This is why I came to use silicone sealant because it has this very bodily feel and appearance.”

Certainly one can detect rather body horror about these sculptures, from the suggestive swelling that protrudes, hernia-like, off its base within the showspace, or the gut-like spirals from the material that burst like medical emergencies. Displayed nearby, are mounted prints showing the pieces viewed from different angles: they look like microscopic invaders observed under magnification, or formations on culture plates.

What captivates me is how certain elements inside human forms happening that also have independent existence,” she says. Phenomena which remain unseen or control.”

Regarding unmanageable factors, the poster promoting the event includes a picture of the leaky ceiling within her workspace in Kreuzberg, Berlin. Constructed built in the early 1970s as she explains, was quickly despised by local people since many older edifices were torn down to allow its construction. It was already run-down as the artist – originally from Munich although she spent her youth near Hamburg then relocating to Berlin in her youth – began using the space.

This deteriorating space was frustrating for her work – she couldn’t hang her art works without concern potential harm – yet it also proved compelling. With no building plans accessible, no one knew the way to fix any of the issues which occurred. After a part of the roof at the artist's area became so sodden it collapsed entirely, the single remedy was to replace it with another – perpetuating the issue.

Elsewhere on the property, Herfeldt says the leaking was so bad so multiple collection units got placed above the false roof to divert the moisture elsewhere.

I understood that the building acted as a physical form, a completely flawed entity,” Herfeldt states.

The situation reminded her of Dark Star, John Carpenter’s debut movie from the seventies featuring a smart spaceship that takes on a life of its own. Additionally, observers may note through the heading – three distinct names – more movies have inspired to have influenced Herfeldt’s show. Those labels indicate the female protagonists in the slasher film, the iconic thriller and Alien respectively. She mentions a critical analysis from a scholar, that describes the last women standing as a unique film trope – protagonists by themselves to overcome.

“She’s a bit tomboyish, rather quiet enabling their survival because she’s quite clever,” says Herfeldt about such characters. They avoid substances or have sex. Regardless who is watching, everyone can relate to this character.”

The artist identifies a parallel linking these figures with her creations – objects which only maintaining position amidst stress they face. So is her work more about cultural decay beyond merely leaky ceilings? Because like so many institutions, substances like silicone meant to insulate and guard against harm are actually slowly eroding within society.

“Oh, totally,” responds the artist.

Earlier in her career in the silicone gun, Herfeldt used other unusual materials. Recent shows featured forms resembling tongues using a synthetic material typical for on a sleeping bag or in coats. Again there is the feeling such unusual creations could come alive – some are concertinaed resembling moving larvae, pieces hang loosely on vertical planes blocking passages collecting debris from touch (Herfeldt encourages people to handle and dirty her art). Similar to the foam artworks, those fabric pieces are similarly displayed in – and escaping from – budget-style transparent cases. The pieces are deliberately unappealing, and that's the essence.

“These works possess a specific look that somehow you feel very attracted to, yet simultaneously being quite repulsive,” Herfeldt remarks with a smile. “It attempts to seem invisible, yet in reality extremely obvious.”

Herfeldt's goal isn't art to provide relaxation or visual calm. Rather, she wants you to feel unease, strange, perhaps entertained. But if you start to feel water droplets from above as well, remember this was foreshadowed.