Mortimer Dyster (b. 1990) is a Finnish visual artist, photographer and filmmaker based in Helsinki.
Mortti Saarnia, working under the artist name Mortimer Dyster, is a Finnish visual artist working across photography, moving image and installation. His practice explores the relationship between mainstream culture, identity and queer experience through cinematic storytelling and contemporary visual language.
Dyster graduated with a BA in Fine Arts from the Turku Arts Academy in 2016 and received his MA in Art and Design from Aalto University in 2020.
His work has been exhibited internationally, including at ToolBox Gallery (Berlin) and Aqua Art Fair (Miami), and is included in the Finnish State Art Collection. Recent projects include the photobook The Allergic Cowboy — dustland notes (2025) and the solo exhibition Lily of the Night Valley at HAA Gallery, Helsinki. His work has been supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Art Promotion Centre Finland.
Dyster was nominated for Best Music Video at the Emma Gala in 2022, won the Grand Prize at the Finnish Music Video Competition (OMVF) in 2021, and was a finalist for the Young Hero Award 2025 by the Jouko Lehtola Foundation.
He is currently developing a new grant-funded project exploring masculinity, cosmology and space politics through the fictional journey of a space traveller.
Mortimer Dyster is not active on social media and instead focuses on long-form artistic work and independent creative practice.
Fashion designer, photographer and band join forces to create a magical summer utopia
msaarnia
@gmail.com