Exploring the Sinister Silicone-Gun Art: In Which Things Feel Living
When considering restroom upgrades, it's advisable to steer clear of engaging the sculptor for the job.
Truly, she's an expert in handling foam materials, producing intriguing artworks out of an unusual medium. However longer you examine her creations, the clearer it becomes apparent that something seems somewhat strange.
The thick lengths from the foam Herfeldt forms reach past the shelves on which they sit, drooping over the sides towards the floor. The knotty silicone strands bulge until they split. A few artworks break free from the display cases fully, turning into a collector for dust and hair. Let's just say the ratings might not get positive.
At times I get this sense that items possess life in a room,” remarks the sculptor. Hence I turned to this substance as it offers such an organic sensation and look.”
Indeed one can detect almost visceral about these sculptures, from the suggestive swelling jutting out, like a medical condition, from the support in the centre of the gallery, or the gut-like spirals from the material that burst as if in crisis. Along a surface, are mounted prints showing the pieces viewed from different angles: they look like microscopic invaders picked up on a microscope, or colonies on culture plates.
I am fascinated by is the idea in our bodies occurring that seem to hold their own life,” she says. Elements which remain unseen or control.”
Talking of elements beyond her influence, the poster promoting the event displays a picture showing a dripping roof at her creative space in the German capital. The building had been built in the early 1970s and, she says, was quickly despised from residents since many older edifices got demolished to allow its construction. It was already in a state of disrepair upon her – who was born in Munich yet raised near Hamburg prior to moving to the capital in her youth – moved in.
The rundown building caused issues for the artist – she couldn’t hang her art works without concern potential harm – yet it also proved intriguing. With no building plans on hand, no one knew methods to address the problems that developed. After a part of the roof within her workspace was saturated enough it collapsed entirely, the single remedy involved installing it with another – and so the cycle continued.
Elsewhere on the property, the artist explains dripping was extreme that several collection units got placed in the suspended ceiling to divert the water to a different sink.
It dawned on me that this place resembled an organism, an entirely malfunctioning system,” the artist comments.
The situation brought to mind a classic film, the director's first cinematic piece featuring a smart spaceship that develops independence. As the exhibition's title suggests through the heading – a trio of references – more movies have inspired to have influenced this exhibition. The three names point to main characters in the slasher film, another scary movie plus the sci-fi hit as listed. Herfeldt cites a 1987 essay written by Carol J Clover, that describes these “final girls” as a unique film trope – female characters isolated to overcome.
“She’s a bit tomboyish, rather quiet and they endure thanks to resourcefulness,” the artist explains regarding this trope. They avoid substances or engage intimately. It is irrelevant who is watching, everyone can relate to the survivor.”
The artist identifies a similarity between these characters and her sculptures – elements that barely staying put under strain they face. Is the exhibition more about social breakdown rather than simply leaky ceilings? Similar to various systems, these materials that should seal and protect from deterioration are gradually failing around us.
“Absolutely,” says Herfeldt.
Earlier in her career with sealant applicators, Herfeldt used alternative odd mediums. Past displays included organic-looking pieces using a synthetic material typical for in insulated clothing or inside a jacket. Similarly, one finds the sense these peculiar objects might animate – some are concertinaed like caterpillars mid-crawl, some droop heavily on vertical planes or spill across doorways attracting dirt from footprints (The artist invites viewers to touch leaving marks on pieces). Like the silicone sculptures, those fabric pieces are similarly displayed in – and escaping from – inexpensive-seeming display enclosures. The pieces are deliberately unappealing, and that's the essence.
“They have a specific look that somehow you feel compelled by, yet simultaneously they’re very disgusting,” she says amusedly. “The art aims for not there, but it’s actually very present.”
Herfeldt's goal isn't work to make you feel comfortable or aesthetically soothed. Instead, she wants you to feel uncomfortable, odd, or even humor. But if you start to feel water droplets on your head as well, remember this was foreshadowed.