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Should you be thinking about washroom remodeling, it's advisable to avoid engaging the sculptor to handle it.

Truly, Herfeldt is highly skilled with a silicone gun, producing intriguing sculptures out of an unusual medium. Yet longer you observe these pieces, the clearer it becomes apparent that an element is a little strange.

Those hefty strands of sealant she produces stretch over display surfaces supporting them, drooping downwards to the ground. Those twisted tubular forms bulge before bursting open. Some creations leave their transparent enclosures completely, becoming a magnet for grime and particles. Let's just say the reviews would not be positive.

At times I get the feeling that objects possess life inside an area,” says the German artist. This is why I came to use silicone sealant because it has this very bodily texture and feeling.”

Indeed one can detect almost visceral about these sculptures, from the phallic bulge jutting out, similar to a rupture, off its base in the centre of the gallery, to the intestinal coils from the material that burst resembling bodily failures. Along a surface, Herfeldt has framed photocopies depicting the sculptures captured in multiple views: they look like squirming organisms seen in scientific samples, or colonies on culture plates.

What captivates me is how certain elements in our bodies taking place that seem to hold independent existence,” Herfeldt explains. Phenomena that are invisible or command.”

Talking of unmanageable factors, the exhibition advertisement featured in the exhibition displays a photograph of water damage overhead within her workspace in Kreuzberg, Berlin. It was erected decades ago and, she says, was quickly despised from residents since many older edifices were torn down in order to make way for it. It was already run-down when Herfeldt – a native of that city but grew up north of Hamburg before arriving in Berlin as a teenager – moved in.

The rundown building proved challenging to Herfeldt – she couldn’t hang her pieces without concern risk of ruin – yet it also proved intriguing. Lacking architectural drawings available, nobody had a clue the way to fix any of the issues which occurred. After a part of the roof within her workspace got thoroughly soaked it collapsed entirely, the sole fix involved installing it with another – thus repeating the process.

At another site, Herfeldt says the water intrusion was severe that several collection units got placed within the drop ceiling to divert leaks to another outlet.

It dawned on me that this place resembled an organism, an entirely malfunctioning system,” she says.

These conditions brought to mind a classic film, John Carpenter’s debut movie from the seventies about an AI-powered spacecraft that takes on a life of its own. As the exhibition's title suggests through the heading – Alice, Laurie & Ripley – that’s not the only film to have influenced Herfeldt’s show. These titles refer to the female protagonists from a horror classic, the iconic thriller plus the sci-fi hit in that order. She mentions an academic paper by the American professor, that describes these “final girls” a distinctive cinematic theme – protagonists by themselves to save the day.

They often display toughness, rather quiet and she can survive because she’s quite clever,” she elaborates of the archetypal final girl. No drug use occurs nor sexual activity. It is irrelevant the viewer’s gender, everyone can relate to this character.”

The artist identifies a parallel from these protagonists and her sculptures – elements that barely holding in place under strain they face. Does this mean the art really concerning cultural decay rather than simply water damage? Similar to various systems, such components meant to insulate and guard us from damage in fact are decaying in our environment.

“Absolutely,” says Herfeldt.

Earlier in her career with sealant applicators, she experimented with different unconventional substances. Previous exhibitions included organic-looking pieces made from fabric similar to typical for in insulated clothing or apparel lining. Once more, there's the feeling these peculiar objects seem lifelike – some are concertinaed resembling moving larvae, some droop heavily from walls or extend through entries collecting debris from touch (Herfeldt encourages people to handle leaving marks on pieces). Similar to the foam artworks, these nylon creations are similarly displayed in – and escaping from – budget-style acrylic glass boxes. The pieces are deliberately unappealing, and really that’s the point.

“The sculptures exhibit a particular style that draws viewers very attracted to, and at the same time they’re very disgusting,” Herfeldt remarks with a smile. “The art aims for not there, but it’s actually very present.”

Herfeldt's goal isn't pieces that offer relaxation or visual calm. Rather, she wants you to feel unease, odd, maybe even amused. However, should you notice a moist sensation overhead too, remember this was foreshadowed.