EFA STUDIO PROGRAM: Member Artists
Camille Eskell
In many related series, Camille has explored self-perception, societal attitudes, and psychological states related to gender bias in my work. As a first-generation American and the youngest of three daughters from a Middle Eastern Iraqi-Jewish family from Bombay (Mumbai), her purpose has been to examine cultural history and familial heritage through a feminist lens in her latest work. For Camille, the converging of these three ancient societies compounded the underlying disparagement of women they shared, and deeply impacted her as it played out in the family dynamic.
Through her practice, Camille aims to unearth the influences of embedded patriarchal systems and inequitable gendered traditions that persist across generations. In my current series The Fez as Storyteller, a group of mixed-media sculptures and two-dimensional works, she tackles the impact of these beliefs and perceptions and their broader social and psychological legacy. This series is a culmination of Camille’s lifelong interests in art, history, costume, and psychology. The works combine elements, cultural symbols, and associations from Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Sephardic traditions, often melding male and female garments and accessories to raise questions about female empowerment or constriction. She often uses the fez cap, traditionally male Ottoman headgear, as a structural base for storytelling to signify the foundation, and the patriarchal base, established by her grandfathers, who left Iraq for India to become traders of the hats in their adopted land.
The crafting of each piece is meticulous, and process-driven, integrating a range of materials and techniques to attain Camille’s visual concept. The designs combine digital photo-based collage, with textiles such as saris, hand-made papers, cast sculpture, trims, jewels, and embellishments; her methods include disassembling/re-working existing garments, hand-sewing and beading, and more. Camille’s aim is to challenge perceptions, evoke emotions, and foster conversations about gender biases, cultural heritage and change.
