Photographs. Faces. Each face a person; each person different; and each different person an inspiration. A boxer, a beggar, a steelworker, a paramedic, an artist, a biker, a sangoma, a priest’s son. Framed in black and white, each intimate portrait is part of Justin Dingwall’s exhibition Portraying Life at the Imaging Hub Photographic Studio in Pretoria.
At 22, Dingwall is a young photographer, but his work is startling, mature and self-aware. His exhibition reflects a conceptual shift in his understanding of himself, of South African society and of photography.
“Starting out as a photographer,” Dingwall laughs, “all I wanted to do was photograph good-looking people”. This didn’t satisfy him for long. He had many preconceptions about what it was to be a photographer, “but then I realised that people respond to honesty, and I could just be myself. I started noticing ordinary, honest people, using less models, less pretentious people.”
He attributes part of this change to a colleague’s interest in social-development photography, which opened his eyes to the detail around him. He picks up this detail in his work, from stitches in a woman’s nose to the man with no hands and a woman holding a small rat.
Dingwall also attributes this more mature view of the world to the experience he gained working with South African photographers such as Crispin Plunkett, Peter Bosch and Philip Schedler.
He talks with respect and excitement about the photographers that have inspired and educated him. “When I started out, I wanted to go for simple pictures, with simple lighting, but seeing how these incredible photographers’ work has really drawn me to exploring subjects dramatically,” he explains.
He uses strong studio lighting, and every shot is organised and set up and full of heightened drama. At the same time, the pictures retain a documentary feel. This aesthetic has evolved from Dingwall’s original interest in glamour photography, his growing social awareness, his technical interest in creating sfumato effects and the people he photographs.
He cites David la Chapelle and Richard Avedon as having influenced the work in this exhibition. “I use a white background, like La Chapelle, and let the person stand out. I give the exhibition my own feel, though,” he adds, “with very harsh lighting and a fashion-like feel that works well with the grittiness of ordinary subjects.”
Dingwall uses this combination of grittiness and staged drama in his approach to his work as well. For this exhibition, he went out to Brakpan, Daveyton, and Itwatwa, without a planned shoot. “I just watched people and then asked to photograph them,” he explains. “When they said yes, then I’d get professional and haul out the lights and tripods and white background and set up the shoot.”
Working like this has influenced Dingwall personally too. “I’ve met people who don’t want to be found, people who’ve left behind families, and finding out their histories and their stories and their characters.”
His mother also finds him subjects through her work in a doctor’s office. “It’s about an interesting face,” he says, “good planning, and then that intangible, the moment when the picture comes together and you get the shot.”
Dingwall used to take pictures of subjects; now each subject seems to give him something of him- or herself. He is open to the person, and this is reflected in each portrait in his exhibition. The picture only captures a moment, but, as Avedon says, that moment is the foundation for the legacy of a lifetime.
Dingwall is laying some solid foundations. His favourite pictures from the exhibition are the ones that capture a moment of cynicism, a moment of fear and a lapse in concentration: a steelworker, a sangoma and a Russian gymnast.
Dingwall studied at the Tshwane University of Technology and fell into photography “by accident, really”. Then, last year, the Professional Photographers’ Association got students from the university to enter the Fujifim Southern Africa Photographic Awards. Dingwall entered four pictures, and came first in two categories and second in a third.
“I haven’t thought about how people will react to the work,” says Dingwall. “I’d like people to leave the exhibition with extended boundaries, a sense of respect for the subjects and,” he adds, with a hint of modest insecurity, “I just hope they like my work.”
The Imaging Hub Studio will be hosting a range of high-profile exhibitions throughout the year. For more information visit http://imaginghub.co.za