Unveiling Lisa Herfeldt's Eerie Sealant-Based Art: In Which Objects Seem Living
When considering washroom remodeling, it's advisable to avoid hiring this German artist for the job.
Certainly, Herfeldt is an expert using sealant applicators, creating fascinating artworks out of an unusual art material. However the more look at her creations, the more one notices a certain aspect feels slightly off.
The thick tubes of sealant she crafts reach beyond their supports supporting them, hanging off the edges to the ground. The gnarled tubular forms bulge before bursting open. Certain pieces break free from their acrylic glass box homes fully, becoming an attractor for dust and hair. It's safe to say the reviews are unlikely to earn positive.
“I sometimes have this sense that things are alive in a room,” says the German artist. This is why I came to use this foam material as it offers this very bodily sensation and look.”
In fact there’s something somewhat grotesque in the artist's creations, starting with the suggestive swelling which extends, similar to a rupture, off its base at the exhibition's heart, and the winding tubes from the material which split open like medical emergencies. Along a surface, are mounted photocopies showing the pieces seen from various perspectives: resembling microscopic invaders observed under magnification, or growths on culture plates.
I am fascinated by is the idea inside human forms occurring that also have their own life,” the artist notes. “Things you can’t see or manage.”
Regarding unmanageable factors, the promotional image featured in the exhibition displays a picture of water damage overhead within her workspace in the German capital. Constructed erected decades ago as she explains, was quickly despised by local people as numerous older edifices got demolished to allow its construction. By the time dilapidated as the artist – a native of that city but grew up near Hamburg before arriving in Berlin during her teens – began using the space.
The rundown building was frustrating for the artist – placing artworks was difficult her pieces without fearing potential harm – but it was also intriguing. Lacking architectural drawings accessible, no one knew the way to fix any of the issues that arose. Once an overhead section in Herfeldt’s studio was saturated enough it fell apart fully, the single remedy involved installing the damaged part – thus repeating the process.
Elsewhere on the property, the artist explains dripping was extreme that several drainage containers were installed above the false roof in order to redirect leaks to another outlet.
“I realised that the building was like a body, an entirely malfunctioning system,” Herfeldt states.
The situation evoked memories of a classic film, John Carpenter’s debut movie from the seventies featuring a smart spaceship that develops independence. As the exhibition's title suggests given the naming – three distinct names – more movies have inspired impacting Herfeldt’s show. These titles refer to the female protagonists in Friday 13th, Halloween plus the sci-fi hit respectively. The artist references a 1987 essay written by Carol J Clover, that describes these surviving characters a distinctive cinematic theme – female characters isolated to save the day.
These figures are somewhat masculine, reserved in nature enabling their survival because she’s quite clever,” she elaborates about such characters. No drug use occurs or have sex. It is irrelevant who is watching, all empathize with the final girl.”
The artist identifies a parallel from these protagonists with her creations – things that are just about maintaining position under strain they face. So is her work more about societal collapse rather than simply leaky ceilings? As with many structures, these materials intended to secure and shield against harm in fact are decaying within society.
“Oh, totally,” she confirms.
Prior to discovering her medium with sealant applicators, Herfeldt used alternative odd mediums. Recent shows have involved forms resembling tongues using the kind of nylon fabric typical for in insulated clothing or in coats. Once more, there's the feeling these strange items might animate – some are concertinaed resembling moving larvae, others lollop down on vertical planes or spill across doorways gathering grime from contact (She prompts people to handle leaving marks on pieces). As with earlier creations, these nylon creations are also housed in – leaving – cheap looking transparent cases. These are unattractive objects, and that's the essence.
“These works possess a particular style that draws viewers highly drawn to, while also they’re very disgusting,” Herfeldt remarks amusedly. “The art aims for not there, however, it is highly noticeable.”
The artist does not create art to provide comfortable or aesthetically soothed. Instead, she wants you to feel discomfort, odd, or even humor. And if there's water droplets from above too, remember the alert was given.