Dustin August, Assimilate, plaster and acrylic paint, 2025

Independent and self-taught, Johannesburg-based multi-disciplinary visual artist Dustin August works across photography, graphic design, and illustration. His formal background in architecture lends structure, precision, and spatial awareness to his practice, which is anchored in process and experimentation. Recurring themes in his work include deconstruction, layering, and transparency—both in materiality and meaning.

August’s art serves as a stylised portrait of the queer body—fluid, evolving, and deeply personal—driven by the desire to capture and honour the many nuances of the queer experience. His compositions invite visibility, presence, and dialogue, balancing experimentation with considered intention.

In 2022, August created his first public mural with HALLS at The Playground in Braamfontein, featured on the cover of BIZART magazine (Issue 03, Spring 2022). He has since completed murals at Blackbrick Hotel in Sandton and Math Restaurant in Waterfall, exhibited at Open Studios at August House (2023) and Turbine Art Fair (2024), and is currently part of the RMB Talent Unlocked 2024 programme.

Assimilate reflects his ongoing exploration of identity and belonging, using plaster and acrylic to create a layered, tactile surface that speaks to the tension between self-preservation and adaptation.