Artist Database

Cazlynne Peffer (b. 1994, Potchefstroom, South Africa) is a multi-disciplinary artist and lecturer at the University of Pretoria, where she earned her master’s degree in fine arts (2024). Her work focuses on sculptural assemblage, found objects, and video, exploring narratives of trauma rooted in her personal experiences with sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Central to her practice is the use of knotted pantyhose, representing poetic expressions of traumatic memories.

Peffer’s sculptural forms explore themes of boundaries, consent, and women’s ownership of their bodies, reconfiguring how sexual violence is represented, especially in cases that go undocumented. Her work speaks to the psychological impact of sexual trauma and the ongoing journey of recovery. Peffer creates “sculptural confessionals” that invite victims and survivors to express their desires for intimacy without fear of shame, using materials like pantyhose, discarded mattresses, and branches to symbolize boundaries and healing spaces.

Her exhibitions include SASOL New Signatures (2017, 2018, 2023), Collective Memory at Documenta 15 (2021), and Resilience, Pleasure & Self-Care in a Precarious World at the Cape Town Art Fair (2024). Peffer has also been awarded third place in the ANNA awards (2023) and completed a residency with SAFFCA at Witklipfotein Eco Lodge.