Pfaff was born in 1947 in Rye, Denmark and emigrated to South Africa in 1970. He did part-time art courses at the Ruth Prowse Art Centre in Cape Town.  From 1970-1979 he worked as a mechanical design draughtsman. During that time he studied painting, graphics and sculpture part-time.

Pfaff worked in ceramic and wood and has also produced drawings, paintings and silkscreens. His recent works are all made by cutting through steel with a cutting torch, which leaves in its path a lacy configuration of glyphs, images and other designs. He currently lives and works in Cape Town.

“Everything we know and we think we know is inside our heads. Where does it all begin and where does it all end? We are the beginning and we are the end.”