🔗 Share this article

If you're planning washroom remodeling, it might be wise not to choose hiring Lisa Herfeldt for the job.

Certainly, she's an expert in handling foam materials, creating fascinating sculptures with a surprising medium. But longer you look at these pieces, the clearer one notices a certain aspect is a little off.

The thick lengths from the foam Herfeldt forms extend beyond display surfaces on which they sit, sagging downwards towards the floor. The knotty silicone strands swell before bursting open. Some creations break free from their transparent enclosures fully, becoming an attractor for grime and particles. Let's just say the reviews might not get favorable.

“I sometimes have this sense that items are alive within a space,” remarks the German artist. “That’s why I came to use silicone sealant as it offers this very bodily feel and appearance.”

In fact one can detect somewhat grotesque about the artist's creations, including the phallic bulge which extends, similar to a rupture, off its base at the exhibition's heart, and the winding tubes of foam that rupture like medical emergencies. Along a surface, the artist presents photocopies showing the pieces seen from various perspectives: resembling squirming organisms observed under magnification, or formations in a lab setting.

“It interests me is the idea in our bodies happening that also have independent existence,” the artist notes. “Things which remain unseen or control.”

Regarding elements beyond her influence, the promotional image for the show features a picture showing a dripping roof in her own studio in Kreuzberg, Berlin. Constructed built in the early 1970s as she explains, faced immediate dislike among the community since many older edifices got demolished in order to make way for it. The place was in a state of disrepair upon her – originally from Munich although she spent her youth near Hamburg before arriving in Berlin as a teenager – moved in.

This deteriorating space caused issues to Herfeldt – placing artworks was difficult her pieces anxiously they might be damaged – but it was also compelling. With no building plans available, it was unclear the way to fix the malfunctions that arose. After a part of the roof at the artist's area became so sodden it collapsed entirely, the single remedy meant swapping it with another – thus repeating the process.

At another site, Herfeldt says dripping was extreme that several shower basins got placed within the drop ceiling to divert leaks to another outlet.

“I realised that the building acted as a physical form, an entirely malfunctioning system,” Herfeldt states.

The situation reminded her of the sci-fi movie, the initial work cinematic piece about an AI-powered spacecraft that takes on a life of its own. Additionally, observers may note from the show’s title – three distinct names – other cinematic works influenced to have influenced this exhibition. Those labels refer to the female protagonists in Friday 13th, another scary movie plus the sci-fi hit in that order. She mentions a critical analysis written by Carol J Clover, outlining these surviving characters an original movie concept – women left alone to save the day.

“She’s a bit tomboyish, rather quiet enabling their survival due to intelligence,” the artist explains about such characters. No drug use occurs or have sex. And it doesn’t matter the viewer’s gender, everyone can relate to this character.”

The artist identifies a connection between these characters and her sculptures – elements that barely staying put despite the pressures they face. So is her work focused on cultural decay beyond merely dripping roofs? Similar to various systems, substances like silicone that should seal and protect from deterioration in fact are decaying in our environment.

“Completely,” she confirms.

Prior to discovering her medium in the silicone gun, Herfeldt used alternative odd mediums. Recent shows have involved organic-looking pieces using fabric similar to found in within outdoor gear or inside a jacket. Similarly, one finds the feeling these strange items might animate – certain pieces are folded resembling moving larvae, pieces hang loosely on vertical planes or extend through entries collecting debris from touch (She prompts viewers to touch and dirty her art). Like the silicone sculptures, these nylon creations also occupy – and escaping from – inexpensive-seeming transparent cases. These are unattractive objects, and really that’s the point.

“The sculptures exhibit a particular style which makes one very attracted to, while also they’re very disgusting,” Herfeldt remarks with a smile. “It attempts to seem not there, but it’s actually very present.”

The artist does not create work to make you feel relaxation or aesthetically soothed. Instead, her intention is to evoke unease, awkward, maybe even amused. However, should you notice a moist sensation from above additionally, don’t say the alert was given.