Delving into the Unsettling Sealant-Based Art: In Which Things Appear Alive
If you're planning bathroom renovations, you may want not to choose hiring this German artist to handle it.
Truly, she's highly skilled using sealant applicators, crafting compelling artworks with a surprising medium. Yet the more examine her creations, the clearer you realise that an element is a little strange.
The dense strands made of silicone she produces reach beyond display surfaces where they rest, drooping downwards below. The knotty tubular forms expand before bursting open. Certain pieces break free from their acrylic glass box homes entirely, evolving into an attractor of debris and fibers. One could imagine the reviews would not be pretty.
There are moments I feel this sense that objects possess life inside an area,” remarks the German artist. “That’s why I started using silicone sealant due to its a distinctly physical feel and appearance.”
Certainly there is an element somewhat grotesque in the artist's creations, starting with the phallic bulge that protrudes, hernia-like, from its cylindrical stand in the centre of the gallery, to the intestinal coils made of silicone that rupture resembling bodily failures. Displayed nearby, Herfeldt has framed images of the works viewed from different angles: resembling wormy parasites seen in scientific samples, or formations on culture plates.
What captivates me is how certain elements inside human forms occurring that seem to hold independent existence,” the artist notes. Phenomena which remain unseen or control.”
On the subject of elements beyond her influence, the promotional image featured in the exhibition features a picture of the leaky ceiling at her creative space located in Berlin. It was erected decades ago and according to her, was instantly hated from residents as numerous older edifices were torn down to allow its construction. It was already dilapidated upon her – originally from Munich although she spent her youth near Hamburg prior to moving to the capital in her youth – took up residence.
This decrepit property was frustrating for the artist – she couldn’t hang her art works without concern risk of ruin – but it was also intriguing. With no building plans accessible, it was unclear the way to fix the malfunctions that arose. When the ceiling panel within her workspace became so sodden it gave way completely, the only solution involved installing the panel with a new one – thus repeating the process.
At another site, Herfeldt says the leaking was so bad so multiple collection units were installed in the suspended ceiling in order to redirect the water to a different sink.
“I realised that the structure resembled an organism, a completely flawed entity,” Herfeldt states.
The situation evoked memories of the sci-fi movie, the initial work cinematic piece concerning a conscious ship that develops independence. As the exhibition's title suggests given the naming – a trio of references – more movies have inspired impacting this exhibition. Those labels refer to the leading women in the slasher film, the iconic thriller plus the sci-fi hit as listed. The artist references an academic paper written by Carol J Clover, which identifies these “final girls” an original movie concept – women left alone to overcome.
“She’s a bit tomboyish, reserved in nature enabling their survival because she’s quite clever,” she elaborates of the archetypal final girl. No drug use occurs nor sexual activity. It is irrelevant the audience's identity, everyone can relate to the final girl.”
She draws a parallel between these characters and her sculptures – objects which only holding in place amidst stress they face. Does this mean the art more about social breakdown than just dripping roofs? Similar to various systems, substances like silicone meant to insulate and guard against harm in fact are decaying around us.
“Absolutely,” she confirms.
Earlier in her career with sealant applicators, the artist worked with different unconventional substances. Recent shows included organic-looking pieces using a synthetic material found in in insulated clothing or apparel lining. Once more, there's the feeling these strange items could come alive – certain pieces are folded as insects in motion, others lollop down on vertical planes blocking passages collecting debris from touch (Herfeldt encourages people to handle and dirty her art). Like the silicone sculptures, the textile works are also housed in – and escaping from – cheap looking display enclosures. They’re ugly looking things, and that's the essence.
“The sculptures exhibit a certain aesthetic which makes one compelled by, while also being quite repulsive,” she says amusedly. “It tries to be invisible, yet in reality very present.”
Herfeldt is not making pieces that offer comfortable or aesthetically soothed. Instead, she aims for unease, strange, maybe even amused. However, should you notice water droplets on your head as well, remember this was foreshadowed.