🔗 Share this article

Should you be thinking about washroom remodeling, it's advisable not to choose employing the sculptor for the job.

Certainly, Herfeldt is an expert using sealant applicators, crafting compelling sculptures with a surprising art material. However as you examine these pieces, the stronger it becomes apparent that an element feels slightly strange.

The thick tubes from the foam Herfeldt forms stretch over display surfaces supporting them, sagging over the sides towards the floor. The gnarled silicone strands swell till they rupture. Certain pieces leave their acrylic glass box homes entirely, becoming an attractor of debris and fibers. One could imagine the reviews might not get pretty.

At times I get this sense that items possess life in a room,” states Herfeldt. Hence I turned to this foam material as it offers a distinctly physical feel and appearance.”

In fact there is an element somewhat grotesque in these sculptures, including that protruding shape jutting out, similar to a rupture, from the support within the showspace, and the winding tubes made of silicone that rupture as if in crisis. Displayed nearby, Herfeldt has framed images showing the pieces seen from various perspectives: resembling microscopic invaders picked up on a microscope, or formations in a lab setting.

What captivates me is how certain elements within us occurring that also have a life of their own,” Herfeldt explains. “Things you can’t see or command.”

Talking of unmanageable factors, the exhibition advertisement for the show features a picture showing a dripping roof in her own studio located in Berlin. It was built in the early 1970s and, she says, was instantly hated by local people since many historic structures got demolished to allow its construction. The place was run-down as the artist – originally from Munich although she spent her youth near Hamburg then relocating to Berlin as a teenager – began using the space.

The rundown building proved challenging for her work – placing artworks was difficult her art works without fearing potential harm – yet it also proved intriguing. With no building plans on hand, nobody had a clue methods to address the malfunctions that developed. Once an overhead section in Herfeldt’s studio became so sodden it collapsed entirely, the only solution was to replace the damaged part – perpetuating the issue.

At another site, Herfeldt says dripping was extreme so multiple collection units were installed within the drop ceiling to divert the water to a different sink.

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

These conditions reminded her of the sci-fi movie, the initial work 1974 film about an AI-powered spacecraft that develops independence. And as you might notice from the show’s title – Alice, Laurie & Ripley – other cinematic works influenced to have influenced the artist's presentation. These titles refer to the female protagonists in the slasher film, Halloween and Alien in that order. She mentions a 1987 essay written by Carol J Clover, outlining these “final girls” an original movie concept – women left alone to triumph.

These figures are somewhat masculine, rather quiet enabling their survival due to intelligence,” says Herfeldt of the archetypal final girl. No drug use occurs or have sex. Regardless the viewer’s gender, we can all identify with the final girl.”

She draws a similarity from these protagonists and her sculptures – elements that barely holding in place amidst stress they face. Is the exhibition more about societal collapse rather than simply leaky ceilings? As with many structures, substances like silicone that should seal and protect from deterioration are actually slowly eroding around us.

“Completely,” says Herfeldt.

Prior to discovering her medium using foam materials, Herfeldt used different unconventional substances. Past displays have involved organic-looking pieces made from the kind of nylon fabric found in in insulated clothing or in coats. Again there is the feeling these strange items seem lifelike – certain pieces are folded resembling moving larvae, others lollop down on vertical planes or spill across doorways gathering grime from contact (Herfeldt encourages viewers to touch leaving marks on pieces). Like the silicone sculptures, the textile works are similarly displayed in – and escaping from – budget-style display enclosures. The pieces are deliberately unappealing, which is intentional.

“The sculptures exhibit a particular style that somehow you feel compelled by, and at the same time they’re very disgusting,” she says grinning. “It attempts to seem invisible, yet in reality extremely obvious.”

Herfeldt is not making pieces that offer relaxation or visual calm. Instead, she aims for unease, strange, maybe even amused. But if you start to feel something wet dripping from above too, consider yourself the alert was given.