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If you're planning washroom remodeling, it might be wise to avoid hiring this German artist for such tasks.

Truly, she's a whiz in handling foam materials, crafting compelling artworks from this unlikely substance. However the more look at the artworks, the stronger you realise a certain aspect seems somewhat unnerving.

Those hefty strands from the foam Herfeldt forms stretch over their supports where they rest, sagging over the sides to the ground. Those twisted silicone strands bulge till they rupture. Some creations break free from the display cases fully, evolving into a collector for grime and particles. It's safe to say the reviews are unlikely to earn pretty.

There are moments I feel this sense that objects are alive within a space,” states Herfeldt. This is why I turned to this substance because it has this very bodily texture and feeling.”

Indeed there’s something almost visceral regarding Herfeldt’s work, from the phallic bulge jutting out, like a medical condition, from its cylindrical stand at the exhibition's heart, and the winding tubes made of silicone that rupture resembling bodily failures. On one wall, Herfeldt has framed photocopies showing the pieces viewed from different angles: resembling microscopic invaders picked up on a microscope, or formations in a lab setting.

I am fascinated by that there are things within us taking place that also have their own life,” the artist notes. “Things you can’t see or manage.”

On the subject of elements beyond her influence, the promotional image for the show features a picture of water damage overhead within her workspace in the German capital. It was built in the early 1970s as she explains, was quickly despised from residents since many old buildings got demolished for its development. By the time in a state of disrepair when Herfeldt – a native of that city yet raised near Hamburg before arriving in Berlin as a teenager – moved in.

This decrepit property was frustrating for the artist – placing artworks was difficult the sculptures anxiously potential harm – however, it was compelling. Lacking architectural drawings available, nobody had a clue methods to address the malfunctions that arose. After a part of the roof within her workspace was saturated enough it collapsed entirely, the single remedy was to replace the damaged part – and so the cycle continued.

Elsewhere on the property, Herfeldt says the leaking was so bad so multiple drainage containers were installed above the false roof to divert the moisture elsewhere.

I understood that this place resembled an organism, a completely flawed entity,” she says.

These conditions brought to mind a classic film, the director's first cinematic piece featuring a smart spaceship which becomes autonomous. Additionally, observers may note from the show’s title – Alice, Laurie & Ripley – other cinematic works influenced to have influenced this exhibition. Those labels indicate the female protagonists from a horror classic, the iconic thriller plus the sci-fi hit respectively. Herfeldt cites an academic paper written by Carol J Clover, outlining these surviving characters as a unique film trope – protagonists by themselves to triumph.

They often display toughness, rather quiet and she can survive thanks to resourcefulness,” the artist explains of the archetypal final girl. They avoid substances or engage intimately. And it doesn’t matter the viewer’s gender, we can all identify with this character.”

The artist identifies a similarity from these protagonists with her creations – things that are just about staying put despite the pressures affecting them. Is the exhibition focused on social breakdown rather than simply water damage? Because like so many institutions, such components meant to insulate and guard against harm are gradually failing around us.

“Completely,” responds the artist.

Before finding inspiration in the silicone gun, she experimented with other unusual materials. Previous exhibitions have involved tongue-like shapes using a synthetic material you might see within outdoor gear or inside a jacket. Once more, there's the feeling such unusual creations could come alive – some are concertinaed like caterpillars mid-crawl, others lollop down from walls or spill across doorways gathering grime from contact (She prompts viewers to touch leaving marks on pieces). As with earlier creations, the textile works are also housed in – leaving – cheap looking transparent cases. These are unattractive objects, which is intentional.

“The sculptures exhibit a particular style that somehow you feel very attracted to, and at the same time being quite repulsive,” the artist comments amusedly. “It attempts to seem invisible, yet in reality extremely obvious.”

Herfeldt's goal isn't work to make you feel ease or visual calm. Instead, she wants you to feel discomfort, odd, perhaps entertained. But if you start to feel a moist sensation overhead too, consider yourself the alert was given.