Justin Dingwall’s riveting photographs challenge traditional beauty ideals. Known for his theatrical portraits, Dingwall constructs staged images noted for their surreal and fantastical elements. Dingwall studied photography at the Tshwane University of Technology. Since graduating in 2004, he has gained recognition for his work in his native South Africa and abroad.

Dingwall is particularly noted for his explorations of taboos, stigmas, and how beauty ideals are conditioned by cultural attitudes and politics, particularly in African contexts. The artist addresses albinism in a portrait series of South African model-activists Thando Hopa and Sanele Xaba titled “Albus,” which he began in 2014. In the whimsical “Fly by Night” series (2015–19), made during a heightened period of racial violence in South Africa, the artist tackles Black Swan Theory. The idiom refers to a surprising or unprecedented event and takes its name from the ill-founded assumption that black swans didn’t exist. Dingwall was the 2015 winner of the SA Taxi Foundation Art Award.

Dingwall’s first solo exhibition with Eclectica Contemporary titled When I Stare at the Night Sky opened in May 2025. Dingwall was a part of Eclectica Contemporary’s Main booth presentation at Investec Cape Town Art Fair 2025. In addition Dingwall had a Solo presentation at Photo London anc participated in Scope Miami in 2024.