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If you're planning restroom upgrades, it might be wise not to choose engaging this German artist to handle it.

Truly, Herfeldt is an expert in handling foam materials, producing intriguing sculptures out of an unusual medium. But the more observe these pieces, the more you realise that something feels slightly off.

The thick tubes of sealant she produces stretch beyond their supports supporting them, drooping off the edges below. Those twisted tubular forms bulge until they split. Certain pieces escape the display cases completely, turning into an attractor for dust and hair. Let's just say the feedback would not be favorable.

“I sometimes have the feeling that things seem animated in a room,” says the sculptor. This is why I came to use this substance because it has this very bodily texture and feeling.”

Certainly there’s something almost visceral about Herfeldt’s work, including that protruding shape that protrudes, similar to a rupture, from the support in the centre of the gallery, or the gut-like spirals of foam which split open resembling bodily failures. Along a surface, are mounted prints showing the pieces captured in multiple views: they look like wormy parasites seen in scientific samples, or formations in a lab setting.

“It interests me that there are things in our bodies happening that also have a life of their own,” she says. Elements that are invisible or command.”

Regarding unmanageable factors, the poster for the show features an image of water damage overhead within her workspace in the German capital. The building had been erected decades ago and, she says, was quickly despised among the community since many historic structures were torn down in order to make way for it. It was already dilapidated as the artist – a native of that city although she spent her youth north of Hamburg then relocating to Berlin as a teenager – moved in.

The rundown building was frustrating to Herfeldt – placing artworks was difficult the sculptures anxiously they might be damaged – yet it also proved fascinating. With no building plans accessible, no one knew methods to address the problems which occurred. Once an overhead section at the artist's area became so sodden it gave way completely, the only solution was to replace the panel with a new one – and so the cycle continued.

In a different area, she describes dripping was extreme so multiple drainage containers got placed above the false roof to channel the water to a different sink.

I understood that the building acted as a physical form, a completely flawed entity,” the artist comments.

These conditions brought to mind the sci-fi movie, the initial work 1974 film featuring a smart spaceship that takes on a life of its own. And as you might notice from the show’s title – three distinct names – other cinematic works influenced impacting this exhibition. Those labels point to main characters from a horror classic, Halloween plus the sci-fi hit respectively. The artist references a critical analysis by the American professor, which identifies the last women standing as a unique film trope – protagonists by themselves to overcome.

They often display toughness, rather quiet and they endure because she’s quite clever,” she elaborates regarding this trope. No drug use occurs nor sexual activity. It is irrelevant the audience's identity, everyone can relate to the survivor.”

Herfeldt sees a similarity between these characters to her artworks – elements that barely staying put despite the pressures affecting them. Does this mean the art really concerning societal collapse than just leaky ceilings? Because like so many institutions, these materials that should seal and protect from deterioration in fact are decaying in our environment.

“Completely,” says Herfeldt.

Before finding inspiration using foam materials, she experimented with different unconventional substances. Previous exhibitions featured tongue-like shapes using the kind of nylon fabric typical for on a sleeping bag or inside a jacket. Once more, there's the feeling these peculiar objects might animate – some are concertinaed like caterpillars mid-crawl, others lollop down from walls or spill across doorways collecting debris from touch (Herfeldt encourages audiences to interact leaving marks on pieces). Like the silicone sculptures, the textile works are also housed in – and escaping from – inexpensive-seeming transparent cases. These are unattractive objects, which is intentional.

“They have a specific look which makes one highly drawn to, and at the same time appearing gross,” the artist comments with a smile. “It attempts to seem not there, however, it is very present.”

The artist does not create art to provide relaxation or visual calm. Instead, she aims for discomfort, odd, maybe even amused. But if you start to feel a moist sensation overhead as well, remember this was foreshadowed.