EFA STUDIO PROGRAM: Member Artists
Camille Eskell
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Camille Eskell’s practice explores themes of self-perception, societal attitudes, and the psychological states shaped by gender bias. A first-generation American and the youngest of three daughters in a Middle Eastern Iraqi-Jewish family from Mumbai (formerly Bombay), she examines her cultural history and familial heritage through a feminist lens. The shared marginalization of women across these ancient societies has profoundly shaped her identity, particularly as it manifested within her own family dynamics.
Her work blends mixed-media and interdisciplinary approaches, integrating textiles, found objects, digital prints, and embellishments to investigate identity, gender, and cultural inheritance. Surrounded from a young age by French lace from her family’s import business, along with the rich textile traditions of India, Eskell developed a sensibility rooted in materiality, layering, and ornament.
The Fez as Storyteller, a series of mixed-media sculptures and two-dimensional works, critiques the social and psychological effects of patriarchal belief systems. This body of work represents the culmination of her longstanding interests in art, history, costume, and psychology. Drawing from Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Sephardic traditions, Eskell integrates male and female garments and accessories to explore tensions between empowerment and restriction.
Building on these themes, Bridal Suite, her newest body of work, critically examines culturally prescribed phases of matrimony. These works incorporate sari fabrics and French lace, combined with emblematic objects representing each stage of this passage. The series continues her exploration of gendered traditions, ritual, and social pressures placed on women, particularly within culturally specific practices such as dowry systems that reinforce patriarchal values.
The fez cap—traditionally a male Ottoman headpiece—serves as a structural base for storytelling in Eskell’s work. It symbolizes patriarchy and references the legacy of her grandfathers, who left Iraq to trade these hats in India. Her hybrid works combine digital photo-based collage with materials such as saris, handmade papers, cast sculpture, trims, jewels, and embellishments. Through processes including deconstruction and reworking of garments, hand sewing, and beading, she creates intricate, layered works that embody both personal and cultural narratives.
Eskell has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally. Her work is included in numerous public and private collections, including the Hudson River Museum (NY), the Chrysler Museum of Art (VA), and the Housatonic Museum of Art (CT). She has received artist fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts (Drawing), the Connecticut Commission on the Arts (Painting), and the Connecticut Office of the Arts (Mixed Media). Her work has been featured in The New York Times, CT Post, The Hartford Courant, Art New England, and HuffPost, as well as in online journals such as Art Spiel, FF2 Media, Posit 19, and Ante Mag. Her residencies include Weir Farm National Historical Park and the Vermont Studio Center. Eskell earned an MFA from Queens College, CUNY, and resides in the greater New York area.
