PFAFFISMS 2019 is a personal interrogation of the artist’s interior and exterior world through sculpture. He questions boundaries of the human condition: What’s inside of me, what’s outside? We feel divided or separated, at times, when in reality it’s simply an illusion.

He explores states of being such as feelings of being trapped in, or disconnected from, everyday life. Sometimes we have a sense of ‘banging’ against life’s ups and downs. What wins out in the mix of genealogy and consciousness?

The heart as an antenna or tree of life pulses and bristles with hope. The imagery of the cosmic tree at universal level merges with the symbolism of electrical circuitry at individual level, and by association, expresses our yearning for authentic connectivity.

Uwe puns with the names of his artworks. ‘School of thought’, for example, portrays an individual momentarily overwhelmed by thoughts – which are imagined as a school of fish seemingly swimming through his entire being.

Pfaff plays with the medium of steel, whether plated, painted or rusted (weathered). With different textures and colours he is able to conjure up a wistful or melancholic glimpse into our states of mind and ways of being, always with a wry sense of humour that intimates that life’s not that bad after all. If seen in the right light, life, Uwe shows us, can actually be quite inspiring.