Delving into the Eerie Sealant-Based Art: In Which Things Feel Living

If you're planning restroom upgrades, you may want to avoid hiring the sculptor to handle it.

Indeed, she's highly skilled with a silicone gun, producing intriguing sculptures from this unlikely substance. Yet as you examine these pieces, the more you realise that an element feels slightly unnerving.

The dense strands made of silicone she produces reach beyond the shelves on which they sit, drooping off the edges towards the floor. The gnarled silicone strands expand until they split. A few artworks escape their acrylic glass box homes completely, turning into a collector for dust and hair. Let's just say the feedback are unlikely to earn favorable.

At times I get an impression that things are alive within a space,” remarks the sculptor. Hence I turned to this foam material as it offers a distinctly physical texture and feeling.”

In fact there’s something almost visceral regarding these sculptures, including the phallic bulge which extends, like a medical condition, from the support at the exhibition's heart, and the winding tubes of foam that rupture resembling bodily failures. Along a surface, are mounted images showing the pieces viewed from different angles: appearing as squirming organisms seen in scientific samples, or growths on culture plates.

I am fascinated by is the idea in our bodies happening that seem to hold their own life,” Herfeldt explains. Elements that are invisible or manage.”

Regarding elements beyond her influence, the exhibition advertisement promoting the event includes a picture showing a dripping roof at her creative space located in Berlin. It was built in the early 1970s and, she says, was quickly despised among the community as numerous older edifices got demolished to allow its construction. The place was run-down upon her – who was born in Munich yet raised north of Hamburg before arriving in Berlin as a teenager – began using the space.

The rundown building was frustrating to Herfeldt – it was risky to display the sculptures anxiously risk of ruin – but it was also fascinating. Without any blueprints accessible, nobody had a clue the way to fix any of the issues that arose. After a part of the roof in Herfeldt’s studio got thoroughly soaked it fell apart fully, the sole fix was to replace the panel with a new one – perpetuating the issue.

In a different area, Herfeldt says the leaking was so bad that several shower basins got placed above the false roof to divert the water to a different sink.

“I realised that the structure resembled an organism, a totally dysfunctional body,” she says.

The situation brought to mind the sci-fi movie, John Carpenter’s debut cinematic piece concerning a conscious ship that develops independence. As the exhibition's title suggests through the heading – a trio of references – that’s not the only film impacting this exhibition. These titles refer to main characters from a horror classic, another scary movie and the extraterrestrial saga in that order. The artist references a critical analysis written by Carol J Clover, which identifies these “final girls” as a unique film trope – women left alone to overcome.

They often display toughness, reserved in nature and she can survive because she’s quite clever,” says Herfeldt of the archetypal final girl. No drug use occurs or engage intimately. And it doesn’t matter who is watching, all empathize with this character.”

She draws a similarity from these protagonists with her creations – things that are just about holding in place amidst stress they face. So is her work more about social breakdown than just water damage? Because like so many institutions, substances like silicone that should seal and protect us from damage in fact are decaying around us.

“Oh, totally,” responds the artist.

Prior to discovering her medium with sealant applicators, Herfeldt used alternative odd mediums. Recent shows featured organic-looking pieces crafted from the kind of nylon fabric found in in insulated clothing or inside a jacket. Again there is the feeling such unusual creations might animate – some are concertinaed as insects in motion, pieces hang loosely from walls blocking passages attracting dirt from footprints (Herfeldt encourages audiences to interact and soil the works). Similar to the foam artworks, these nylon creations are similarly displayed in – leaving – cheap looking transparent cases. These are unattractive objects, and really that’s the point.

“The sculptures exhibit a certain aesthetic that somehow you feel compelled by, yet simultaneously they’re very disgusting,” Herfeldt remarks grinning. “The art aims for invisible, but it’s actually highly noticeable.”

Herfeldt is not making art to provide ease or beauty. Conversely, she aims for unease, odd, maybe even amused. However, should you notice water droplets on your head too, consider yourself you haven’t been warned.

Carly Rojas
Carly Rojas

A passionate food writer and local guide with years of experience exploring Florence's culinary scene.