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When considering restroom upgrades, it's advisable to steer clear of engaging Lisa Herfeldt for the job.

Certainly, Herfeldt is an expert using sealant applicators, producing compelling sculptures with a surprising medium. However longer you observe the artworks, the stronger one notices that an element feels slightly unnerving.

Those hefty strands made of silicone Herfeldt forms stretch past their supports where they rest, sagging off the edges to the ground. Those twisted silicone strands expand until they split. A few artworks leave the display cases fully, evolving into a collector of debris and fibers. Let's just say the feedback might not get positive.

“I sometimes have the feeling that objects are alive within a space,” says the German artist. This is why I turned to this foam material due to its this very bodily feel and appearance.”

Certainly there’s something rather body horror regarding the artist's creations, including the phallic bulge that protrudes, like a medical condition, off its base within the showspace, to the intestinal coils of foam which split open as if in crisis. On one wall, Herfeldt has framed prints depicting the sculptures viewed from different angles: resembling wormy parasites observed under magnification, or growths in a lab setting.

What captivates me is how certain elements in our bodies happening that also have their own life,” the artist notes. Phenomena you can’t see or manage.”

Talking of unmanageable factors, the poster for the show includes a picture of water damage overhead in her own studio located in Berlin. Constructed made in the seventies as she explains, was quickly despised from residents because a lot of historic structures were torn down in order to make way for it. It was already dilapidated upon her – originally from Munich although she spent her youth near Hamburg before arriving in Berlin as a teenager – began using the space.

The rundown building was frustrating for her work – it was risky to display her pieces without fearing risk of ruin – yet it also proved fascinating. Lacking architectural drawings available, no one knew methods to address any of the issues that arose. When the ceiling panel within her workspace became so sodden it fell apart fully, the only solution was to replace the damaged part – and so the cycle continued.

Elsewhere on the property, Herfeldt says the water intrusion was severe that several shower basins were set up above the false roof in order to redirect the water to a different sink.

It dawned on me that the building was like a body, a totally dysfunctional body,” Herfeldt states.

The situation reminded her of a classic film, John Carpenter’s debut movie from the seventies about an AI-powered spacecraft which becomes autonomous. Additionally, observers may note given the naming – Alice, Laurie & Ripley – more movies have inspired to have influenced this exhibition. Those labels point to the leading women in Friday 13th, Halloween and Alien respectively. Herfeldt cites a critical analysis written by Carol J Clover, outlining these “final girls” as a unique film trope – female characters isolated to triumph.

These figures are somewhat masculine, reserved in nature and she can survive due to intelligence,” she elaborates about such characters. “They don’t take drugs or have sex. And it doesn’t matter the viewer’s gender, everyone can relate to this character.”

The artist identifies a connection from these protagonists and her sculptures – things that are just about holding in place despite the pressures affecting them. Does this mean the art really concerning cultural decay than just dripping roofs? As with many structures, substances like silicone that should seal and protect against harm are gradually failing around us.

“Oh, totally,” says Herfeldt.

Earlier in her career with sealant applicators, Herfeldt used alternative odd mediums. Recent shows featured forms resembling tongues made from the kind of nylon fabric you might see in insulated clothing or apparel lining. Again there is the impression these peculiar objects could come alive – a few are compressed resembling moving larvae, some droop heavily on vertical planes or spill across doorways attracting dirt from footprints (The artist invites people to handle and dirty her art). Similar to the foam artworks, the textile works are similarly displayed in – and breaking out of – budget-style transparent cases. They’re ugly looking things, and that's the essence.

“They have a specific look which makes one very attracted to, yet simultaneously appearing gross,” the artist comments amusedly. “The art aims for not there, but it’s actually highly noticeable.”

Herfeldt is not making art to provide comfortable or aesthetically soothed. Rather, her intention is to evoke discomfort, awkward, maybe even amused. However, should you notice a moist sensation from above additionally, don’t say the alert was given.