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Should you be thinking about bathroom renovations, it's advisable not to choose engaging the sculptor for the job.

Truly, she's a whiz using sealant applicators, creating intriguing artworks from this unlikely art material. However as you examine these pieces, the stronger it becomes apparent that something is a little strange.

Those hefty tubes from the foam she produces stretch beyond the shelves on which they sit, drooping off the edges below. The knotty silicone strands expand till they rupture. A few artworks escape their transparent enclosures completely, evolving into a magnet for grime and particles. It's safe to say the reviews would not be pretty.

There are moments I feel an impression that things are alive inside an area,” says the German artist. This is why I came to use this foam material as it offers this very bodily feel and appearance.”

Indeed there’s something somewhat grotesque about the artist's creations, starting with the phallic bulge that protrudes, like a medical condition, from the support at the exhibition's heart, to the intestinal coils made of silicone that rupture as if in crisis. Displayed nearby, the artist presents prints of the works viewed from different angles: resembling wormy parasites observed under magnification, or formations on a petri-dish.

“It interests me is the idea within us taking place that seem to hold independent existence,” the artist notes. Phenomena that are invisible or control.”

On the subject of elements beyond her influence, the promotional image promoting the event displays a photograph of the leaky ceiling at her creative space located in Berlin. The building had been erected decades ago and according to her, was quickly despised from residents as numerous old buildings got demolished in order to make way for it. It was already dilapidated as the artist – originally from Munich but grew up north of Hamburg before arriving in Berlin in her youth – began using the space.

The rundown building caused issues for the artist – placing artworks was difficult the sculptures without concern potential harm – but it was also intriguing. Without any blueprints available, nobody had a clue how to repair any of the issues that arose. After a part of the roof in Herfeldt’s studio became so sodden it fell apart fully, the single remedy involved installing the damaged part – and so the cycle continued.

At another site, the artist explains the leaking was so bad that a series of shower basins were installed in the suspended ceiling in order to redirect leaks to another outlet.

“I realised that the building resembled an organism, an entirely malfunctioning system,” the artist comments.

These conditions evoked memories of Dark Star, John Carpenter’s debut movie from the seventies featuring a smart spaceship that develops independence. And as you might notice from the show’s title – Alice, Laurie & Ripley – other cinematic works influenced to have influenced this exhibition. Those labels point to the female protagonists in Friday 13th, the iconic thriller and Alien respectively. She mentions a critical analysis from a scholar, outlining these surviving characters an original movie concept – protagonists by themselves to overcome.

“She’s a bit tomboyish, reserved in nature enabling their survival because she’s quite clever,” says Herfeldt of the archetypal final girl. They avoid substances or have sex. And it doesn’t matter the viewer’s gender, everyone can relate to this character.”

The artist identifies a parallel between these characters to her artworks – objects which only maintaining position despite the pressures they’re under. Does this mean the art more about social breakdown rather than simply water damage? Because like so many institutions, substances like silicone that should seal and protect from deterioration are gradually failing within society.

“Completely,” she confirms.

Earlier in her career in the silicone gun, Herfeldt used alternative odd mediums. Past displays included tongue-like shapes using fabric similar to found in in insulated clothing or apparel lining. Once more, there's the impression such unusual creations might animate – a few are compressed as insects in motion, some droop heavily off surfaces blocking passages attracting dirt from footprints (Herfeldt encourages audiences to interact and dirty her art). Like the silicone sculptures, those fabric pieces are similarly displayed in – and escaping from – cheap looking display enclosures. These are unattractive objects, which is intentional.

“They have a certain aesthetic that somehow you feel highly drawn to, yet simultaneously they’re very disgusting,” the artist comments with a smile. “The art aims for absent, but it’s actually highly noticeable.”

Herfeldt is not making work to make you feel comfortable or aesthetically soothed. Instead, her intention is to evoke unease, strange, or even humor. However, should you notice something wet dripping from above as well, don’t say this was foreshadowed.