Marja Pirilä has specialised in camera obscura technology since the 1990s and is known for her photographs, where interior and exterior merge to create a dreamlike third reality. For Pirilä, Camera obscura is a tool for mapping habitats and mental landscapes and attracting subconscious emotions to daylight. At the heart of her extensive production is light and enchantment.

 Pirilä’s work has been exhibited in Europe, North and South America and Asia and her work is included in several public and private collections. She was awarded the Finnish State Prize for Photographic Art in 2000 and Alfred Kordelin Foundation Award in 2020. Her latest photobook is a retrospective Carried by Light (2014).