Maarit Hohteri photographs her life and the people around her. She records facts and emotions from moments in her personal experience that are not necessarily of particular interest. She collects images of her private life that constitute a sort of visual diary, a personal archive which ranges from the begin­nings of her studies at the University of Art and Design Helsinki up to the present day. 

If Maarit Hohteri's snap-shot-like photographs are formally related to the work of the American artist Nan Goldin, her artis­tic approach is much less existential. Compared to the world represented in Goldin's work, which usually portrays people living on society's edge (drug addicts, transvestites, etc.), Maarit Hohteri's world is less violent and destructive. Surrounded by young bohemians who, with their oddly coloured hair, piercings, and tattoos, look more provocative than they really are, Maarit Hohteri's milieu appears more protected and innocent than that of her famous peer. 

In her work Maarit Hohteri recounts the story of her life, with family and friends, through photographs of both banal and special events. Following her direction, the viewer meets people, participates in parties and discussions, gets to know life at the university, or becomes the witness of girls' beauty naps. The people, places, and emotions in the photographs are all authentic; nothing is staged for the camera. Maarit Hohteri is simply a witness to these events. With her work Maarit Hohteri has not only created a precious record of her own life, but also a chronicle of her generation.

Maarit Hohteri was born in 1976 in Helsinki. Lives and works in Helsinki. Graduated in 2002 from the University of Art and Design Helsinki, renamed Aalto University School of An and Design in 2010.