Oksana Shatalova

Hello, friends! My name is Oksana Shatalova. I am 53 years old and I live in Rudny, Kazakhstan.

Let me begin with the essentials. I am currently writing a popular-science book (in Russian) about the psychological meanings of Nature.

I started this project in 2022 as a continuation of my master’s thesis on the psychology of human–nature interactions — in simple terms, on communicating with nature as a form of psychotherapy. Its working title was Green Therapy. Over time, however, the project expanded, and I began to incorporate social and political dimensions as well.

The book is shaping up to be quite multifaceted — which is not surprising. Throughout my life, I have found it difficult to fit into a single identity. Between 2000 and 2012, when I worked in contemporary art, I simultaneously held three roles: artist, curator, and art critic.

Later, several more roles joined the list: art director of a cultural center, creator of informal educational courses, editor and proofreader, and writer. After earning a degree in psychology, I added another title: researcher — in the most applied sense, as I became fascinated with quantitative methods. But not only that: in psychology I am also drawn to practice, particularly practices of self-care and the integration of artistic methods.

Perhaps I would describe myself as a curious researcher who cannot resist the charm of the new — but who also does not want to abandon the old.

I realize that this introduction may seem somewhat whirlwind. Below, you can explore specific events and projects from my life to better understand what I have outlined here in such a condensed way.

Short Bio

As I mentioned above, my life path has been diverse. Here are a few selected highlights:

2009 — Participated as an artist in the Central Asian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.
2011 — Co-curator of the Central Asian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.
2015 — Laureate of the Prince Claus Award.
2012–2018 — Art director of the cultural center School of Theory and Activism — Bishkek (STAB), Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Since 2020 — Collaboration with the feminist psychologists’ network Association of Feminist Therapy / Institute of Feminist Therapy.
2023 — Developed and taught the original course Patients and Authors: The History of Feminism as the History of Psychotherapy for the Institute of Feminist Therapy community.
2024–2026 — Developed and taught the original course A Feminist Perspective on Literary Classics for the Institute of Feminist Therapy community.

News

October 2–30, 2026. Participation in the exhibition Memory and Identity in Contemporary Art of Kazakhstan (Zentrum für internationale Künste, Berlin).

August 2, 2026. My installation Memorial to the Unknowns has been included in the third volume of a visual anthology by the photographic platform UNSTAGED. The theme of this issue is Substratum.

July 18, 2026. Artist talk as part of the public program of the Human Hands exhibition (online).

May 28 – September 6, 2026. My handmade paper works are presented at the exhibition Human Hands (Forte Kulanshi Art Space, Astana, Kazakhstan).

February 14 – March 21, 2026. A new iteration of the online course Patients and Authors: The History of Feminism as the History of Psychotherapy as part of the educational program of the Institute of Feminist Therapy.

January 31, 2026. My fourth online lecture in the series A Feminist Perspective on Literary Classics as part of the educational program of the Institute of Feminist Therapy. The lecture is devoted to Virgil’s Aeneid.

December 23, 2025. My artwork Paper Organics: Birds #3 was chosen for a special ArtMajeur collection inspired by PANTONE’s Cloud Dancer white. See the full collection of 53 works here.

Art Works

My artistic career is divided into two distinct phases. During the first phase (the 2000–2010s), I focused on digital photography and video, believing they best captured the spirit of the time. More information: Wikipedia, Apollonia Artist Network.

My current work emerged from my academic research, seeking visual metaphors for the dialectical inseparability of nature and culture. I find handmade paper to be the most eloquent medium for this inquiry. My goal is to shift the focus to the paper itself—the medium is the message—emphasizing its cultural resonance alongside its biological vulnerability. I create objects that connect paper’s role as a carrier of memory with its organic origins. The medium itself determines my central themes: the fragility of memory and the limitations and possibilities embedded in archives.

Ecological consistency is vital to my practice. I reject plastic-based materials in favor of biodegradable alternatives, allowing my objects to remain part of natural cycles of decay.

Below are some of my works.

Memorial to the Unknowns

Series of handmade paper sheets features unidentified strangers from an inherited archive; with no one left to name them, I integrate their portraits into handmade paper to grant their fading memories a second life in art.

Impermanent Archive

An artist's book created of handmade paper with embedded fragments of photographs of unknown people from the artist's personal (inherited) archive. The "woody," "overgrowing" texture of the pages symbolizes the fragility of memory. Much like botanical objects, this book is part of the natural cycle, as it is crafted from natural and biodegradable materials.

Liber de Horto Mulierum (Book of the Women’s Garden)

Work in progress. An installation of pure plant paper sheets, an homage to Christine de Pizan’s Le Livre de la Cité des Dames and women writers of the past. Most sheets remain blank; selected ones bear debossed names and titles of texts. The blank expanse evokes female voices that have been silenced, forgotten, or lost. Each author is assigned a separate plant species, so each name is a botanical experiment. Preparing botanical fibers—such as reed, which can require weeks of processing—is physically demanding and slow. Through this labor, I honor the historical, often unacknowledged work of women.

You can see more of my artworks on Artmajeur.

Articles and Books

I write in Russian, focusing on nonfiction and academic texts. I am the author of many articles appearing in art journals, exhibition catalogues, and cultural magazines (example - Resistance in the Asian Way (2009) - translation into English) (one more example - Personal world (2020) - translation into English), as well as three peer-reviewed articles in academic psychology journals (example).

In addition, I have edited four books and co-authored one. My editing and writing work spans cultural studies, politics, art, and psychology. I am currently working on a book, tentatively titled Green Therapy, which explores the psychology, philosophy, and sociology of Nature.

Below are some links.