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If you're planning bathroom renovations, you may want to steer clear of hiring the sculptor to handle it.

Certainly, Herfeldt is an expert using sealant applicators, creating compelling creations out of an unusual art material. However the more observe these pieces, the clearer you realise a certain aspect seems somewhat off.

The dense lengths of sealant Herfeldt forms reach beyond their supports on which they sit, hanging off the edges towards the floor. The gnarled foam pipes swell until they split. Some creations escape their transparent enclosures fully, becoming a magnet for dust and hair. Let's just say the ratings would not be pretty.

There are moments I feel this sense that objects possess life in a room,” says the German artist. “That’s why I turned to silicone sealant due to its such an organic sensation and look.”

Certainly one can detect somewhat grotesque in these sculptures, starting with that protruding shape that protrudes, hernia-like, off its base at the exhibition's heart, to the intestinal coils of foam which split open resembling bodily failures. Displayed nearby, Herfeldt has framed prints depicting the sculptures seen from various perspectives: resembling wormy parasites picked up on a microscope, or growths on a petri-dish.

What captivates me is how certain elements within us taking place that seem to hold a life of their own,” she says. “Things you can’t see or command.”

On the subject of elements beyond her influence, the promotional image featured in the exhibition displays a picture of water damage overhead within her workspace located in Berlin. Constructed built in the early 1970s as she explains, was instantly hated from residents because a lot of older edifices were torn down to allow its construction. The place was run-down upon her – who was born in Munich yet raised north of Hamburg prior to moving to the capital in her youth – began using the space.

This decrepit property caused issues to Herfeldt – placing artworks was difficult her pieces without fearing potential harm – yet it also proved fascinating. With no building plans on hand, no one knew the way to fix the problems which occurred. Once an overhead section within her workspace got thoroughly soaked it fell apart fully, the single remedy involved installing the panel with a new one – thus repeating the process.

In a different area, she describes dripping was extreme so multiple shower basins were installed within the drop ceiling to channel the water to a different sink.

It dawned on me that the structure was like a body, a totally dysfunctional body,” she says.

The situation brought to mind Dark Star, the initial work 1974 film about an AI-powered spacecraft that develops independence. And as you might notice through the heading – a trio of references – that’s not the only film to have influenced Herfeldt’s show. These titles refer to the female protagonists in Friday 13th, the iconic thriller and Alien respectively. The artist references a 1987 essay from a scholar, which identifies 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,” says Herfeldt regarding this trope. They avoid substances nor sexual activity. And it doesn’t matter the audience's identity, everyone can relate to the survivor.”

Herfeldt sees a connection between these characters with her creations – things that are just about maintaining position under strain they’re under. So is her work more about societal collapse rather than simply dripping roofs? As with many structures, such components that should seal and protect us from damage in fact are decaying within society.

“Completely,” she confirms.

Before finding inspiration with sealant applicators, Herfeldt used different unconventional substances. Recent shows featured organic-looking pieces crafted from fabric similar to found in within outdoor gear or inside a jacket. Again there is the sense such unusual creations seem lifelike – some are concertinaed resembling moving larvae, pieces hang loosely from walls or spill across doorways attracting dirt from footprints (The artist invites viewers to touch and dirty her art). As with earlier creations, those fabric pieces are similarly displayed in – and breaking out of – inexpensive-seeming display enclosures. They’re ugly looking things, which is intentional.

“These works possess a certain aesthetic that somehow you feel highly drawn to, yet simultaneously appearing gross,” she says with a smile. “The art aims for invisible, however, it is highly noticeable.”

Herfeldt's goal isn't art to provide relaxation or beauty. Rather, she aims for unease, awkward, maybe even amused. But if you start to feel something wet dripping on your head as well, consider yourself this was foreshadowed.