Internationally acclaimed Finnish photographer Nelli Palomäki talks about her work in Russia and about her fascination of the shared moment between the artist and the subject.

The Institute met up with Palomäki in November at the opening of her exhibition "Sons of Nakhimov" at Wapping Project Bankside in London. The exhibition consisted of a series of large-scale, black and white portraits of young pupils from the Nakhimov Naval Academy, a Russian military school in St Petersburg.

Nelli Palomäki is one of the most celebrated artists to have emerged from the Helsinki School and Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture. Palomäki has studied in London but currently lives and works in Finland.

This spring the Finnish Museum of Photography will present the first comprehensive overview of the works of Nelli Palomäki in Helsinki. The pieces exhibited 16 January–21 April include both the audience favorites and new intimate and delicate works. Palomäki's new book "Breathing the Same Air" will be published simultaneously with the exhibition.

Watch the interview here.