Stranger begins with a simple question: Can I touch you?

Mari Mäntynen approaches people she has never met before and asks them to make a photograph together. There is no prior relationship, no prepared pose and no script. Within minutes, two strangers must decide how close they want to be, what they are willing to do together, and how they want to appear in the image.

The resulting photographs can resemble images of intimacy, friendship or family, even though the people pictured have only just met. The encounter is not simply documented; it is actively constructed between the artist and the participant. They negotiate touch, distance, posture and trust, while the camera becomes part of the situation rather than a neutral observer.

After photographing, Mäntynen and the participant spend time together looking at the images and discussing the encounter. The participant is involved not only in the making of the photograph but also in deciding which image remains.

At the centre of the project is the idea that we are each other’s environment: other people shape the physical, emotional and social space we inhabit. Stranger explores what happens when the familiar structures of social interaction are temporarily suspended, and whether uncertainty can become a starting point for intimacy.

The series is ongoing.