🔗 Share this article

If you're planning bathroom renovations, it's advisable not to choose hiring this German artist for such tasks.

Truly, Herfeldt is highly skilled in handling foam materials, creating intriguing creations from this unlikely medium. However longer you look at her creations, the stronger it becomes apparent that something is a little strange.

Those hefty lengths of sealant she crafts stretch over their supports supporting them, drooping downwards towards the floor. Those twisted silicone strands expand before bursting open. Some creations break free from their transparent enclosures completely, turning into an attractor for dust and hair. Let's just say the feedback are unlikely to earn positive.

There are moments I feel an impression that things possess life within a space,” states the sculptor. Hence I came to use this foam material due to its such an organic sensation and look.”

In fact one can detect rather body horror about the artist's creations, including that protruding shape that protrudes, similar to a rupture, off its base in the centre of the gallery, to the intestinal coils from the material that rupture as if in crisis. Displayed nearby, Herfeldt has framed prints showing the pieces captured in multiple views: appearing as squirming organisms picked up on a microscope, or formations on a petri-dish.

I am fascinated by is how certain elements within us occurring that also have their own life,” she says. Phenomena that are invisible or control.”

Regarding elements beyond her influence, the poster featured in the exhibition features an image of water damage overhead at her creative space in the German capital. Constructed built in the early 1970s as she explains, faced immediate dislike by local people since many old buildings were removed to allow its construction. It was already dilapidated as the artist – originally from Munich but grew up near Hamburg before arriving in Berlin as a teenager – moved in.

The rundown building proved challenging for her work – it was risky to display her art works anxiously potential harm – yet it also proved fascinating. With no building plans on hand, it was unclear how to repair any of the issues which occurred. After a part of the roof at the artist's area became so sodden it gave way completely, the sole fix involved installing the panel with a new one – thus repeating the process.

In a different area, Herfeldt says the water intrusion was severe that several shower basins got placed above the false roof to divert the moisture elsewhere.

It dawned on me that the structure acted as a physical form, a completely flawed entity,” she says.

This scenario brought to mind a classic film, the initial work cinematic piece concerning a conscious ship that develops independence. And as you might notice through the heading – a trio of references – that’s not the only film shaping the artist's presentation. Those labels point to main characters from a horror classic, the iconic thriller and Alien as listed. Herfeldt cites a critical analysis by the American professor, outlining these surviving characters a distinctive cinematic theme – protagonists by themselves to save the day.

They often display toughness, rather quiet and they endure because she’s quite clever,” she elaborates regarding this trope. No drug use occurs or have sex. It is irrelevant the viewer’s gender, everyone can relate to this character.”

The artist identifies a similarity linking these figures to her artworks – objects which only maintaining position despite the pressures they face. So is her work more about cultural decay beyond merely leaky ceilings? Similar to various systems, substances like silicone that should seal and protect us from damage are actually slowly eroding in our environment.

“Absolutely,” responds the artist.

Earlier in her career with sealant applicators, Herfeldt used alternative odd mediums. Previous exhibitions included tongue-like shapes made from a synthetic material found in on a sleeping bag or inside a jacket. Again there is the feeling these strange items seem lifelike – some are concertinaed as insects in motion, pieces hang loosely off surfaces or extend through entries gathering grime from contact (She prompts audiences to interact and soil the works). Like the silicone sculptures, the textile works also occupy – and escaping from – inexpensive-seeming transparent cases. These are unattractive objects, which is intentional.

“The sculptures exhibit a particular style that somehow you feel very attracted to, yet simultaneously being quite repulsive,” the artist comments amusedly. “The art aims for invisible, but it’s actually extremely obvious.”

Herfeldt is not making pieces that offer relaxation or beauty. Instead, she wants you to feel discomfort, awkward, maybe even amused. However, should you notice something wet dripping from above additionally, remember the alert was given.