Gaelen Pinnock (b.1980) is an artist based in Cape Town, South Africa. He uses various techniques to explore and document expressions of power and domesticity in the urban landscape. Originally an architect, his work has a strong conceptual connection to the built environment.

Pinnock’s work looks at modern developments and policies in a divided South Africa that are entrenching class separation in a landscape that is already shaped by the legacy of colonial rule, apartheid legislation and divisive spatial planning. He looks at ways in which landscapes impart power and he assembles various artefacts of division: security equipment, surveillance, construction material etc.

He teases out patterns, sensations, feelings of exclusion and distils his findings into stark, rough works that are snapshots of a city and a society fraught with undercurrents of deficiency and violence. Pinnock has participated in local and international group shows at various institutions including the Zeitz MOCAA, A4 Arts Foundation and the Rupert Museum.