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If you're planning bathroom renovations, it might be wise to steer clear of engaging this German artist for the job.

Certainly, she's a whiz with a silicone gun, creating compelling sculptures out of an unusual medium. However longer you examine her creations, the stronger you realise a certain aspect seems somewhat unnerving.

Those hefty strands of sealant she produces extend beyond the shelves where they rest, sagging over the sides to the ground. Those twisted foam pipes expand till they rupture. Some creations leave the display cases fully, turning into an attractor for dust and hair. One could imagine the ratings might not get pretty.

At times I get this sense that things are alive within a space,” states the German artist. Hence I turned to this substance because it has a distinctly physical feel and appearance.”

Certainly there’s something almost visceral regarding these sculptures, starting with the phallic bulge which extends, similar to a rupture, from the support in the centre of the gallery, and the winding tubes from the material that burst as if in crisis. Displayed nearby, are mounted prints showing the pieces viewed from different angles: they look like squirming organisms observed under magnification, or colonies in a lab setting.

What captivates me that there are things within us happening which possess their own life,” Herfeldt explains. “Things which remain unseen or command.”

Talking of elements beyond her influence, the exhibition advertisement promoting the event features a photograph showing a dripping roof in her own studio in Kreuzberg, Berlin. The building had been made in the seventies and according to her, was quickly despised by local people as numerous old buildings were torn down in order to make way for it. It was already run-down as the artist – a native of that city but grew up north of Hamburg before arriving in Berlin during her teens – took up residence.

The rundown building proved challenging for the artist – she couldn’t hang her art works without concern they might be damaged – but it was also fascinating. Lacking architectural drawings accessible, nobody had a clue methods to address the problems which occurred. After a part of the roof at the artist's area got thoroughly soaked it collapsed entirely, the single remedy was to replace it with another – thus repeating the process.

At another site, she describes the leaking was so bad that a series of collection units were set up above the false roof to channel the water to a different sink.

I understood that this place was like a body, an entirely malfunctioning system,” the artist comments.

The situation reminded her of Dark Star, the director's first movie from the seventies concerning a conscious ship which becomes autonomous. As the exhibition's title suggests given the naming – Alice, Laurie & Ripley – more movies have inspired shaping the artist's presentation. The three names point to main characters in the slasher film, Halloween plus the sci-fi hit as listed. The artist references an academic paper written by Carol J Clover, which identifies the last women standing as a unique film trope – female characters isolated to triumph.

These figures are somewhat masculine, on the silent side and they endure thanks to resourcefulness,” says Herfeldt of the archetypal final girl. They avoid substances or engage intimately. It is irrelevant the viewer’s gender, we can all identify with this character.”

Herfeldt sees a connection from these protagonists and her sculptures – things that are just about holding in place amidst stress they face. So is her work more about social breakdown rather than simply leaky ceilings? Because like so many institutions, substances like silicone that should seal and protect us from damage are actually slowly eroding in our environment.

“Oh, totally,” says Herfeldt.

Before finding inspiration in the silicone gun, the artist worked with different unconventional substances. Recent shows featured forms resembling tongues made from a synthetic material found in within outdoor gear or inside a jacket. Once more, there's the feeling these strange items might animate – a few are compressed as insects in motion, others lollop down from walls or spill across doorways collecting debris from touch (She prompts audiences to interact and dirty her art). Similar to the foam artworks, those fabric pieces also occupy – and breaking out of – budget-style transparent cases. They’re ugly looking things, and really that’s the point.

“These works possess a certain aesthetic that somehow you feel compelled by, while also being quite repulsive,” Herfeldt remarks with a smile. “It tries to be not there, yet in reality very present.”

The artist does not create pieces that offer ease or aesthetically soothed. Instead, her intention is to evoke discomfort, strange, perhaps entertained. But if you start to feel a moist sensation overhead as well, remember the alert was given.