[3][4] As an artist, Shatalova's artworks often explores themes on individual experiences of the Soviet past, local mythology and folk customs, body politics and feminism, and critique of social and economic inequalities.
[12] They are also the authors of Queer-communism as Ethics, a book exploring the radical imagination of a queer future alongside the legacy of Soviet communism, which was published in 2016 by Free Marxist Press.
[3] In 2012, Shatalova and Mamedov founded the School of Theory and Activism (STAB) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, an artistic and research initiative that tackles issues on queer and communist history in Central Asia.
[13] Since its establishment, STAB has run animation workshops which addresses critical topics in Kyrgyz Republic, such as the dominance of the Russian language in Central Asia, urban development, or the passing of a bill banning "homosexual propaganda".
[3] She was also the recipient of the Prince Claus Award in 2015 for her works around gender inequality and also "generously, mentoring, curating and promoting Central Asian artists.
[1] Shatalova has published writings collaboratively with other curators or writers on Central Asian art on topics related to queer and women identities, Soviet history and communism.
[3] They also co-wrote the chapter "Architecture, Outer Space, Sex: The Kollontai Commune in 1970s Frunze" in the book Queer(ing) Russian Art in 2023, which discussed early Soviet revolutionary ideas of liberation of sexuality in Alexandra Kollontai's writings in relation to non-heteronormative sexuality and gender identity within the semi-fictional Frunze queer commune of the 1970s.