Camille Eskell: Embroidering Power and Vulnerability on the Edge of a Fez

Camille Eskell (b. 1954, USA) is a first-generation American artist from an Iraqi Jewish family who arrived in New York via India. Her work spans sculpture, digital collage, painting, and installation, addressing patriarchy, migration, vulnerability, and resistance. She currently exhibits regularly in the US and abroad, with a recent solo show 'One Thousand and One Threads' at Kapow Gallery in New York. Eskell's practice began in the 1980s from a place of fear—of not being valued, of being silenced. She later merged personal psychology with family history and cultural heritage, particularly exploring the fez as a symbol of male authority and its impact on women's lives. In 'Dis-Miss: Let Me Entertain YOU', she transforms two fezzes into a bra, parodying the decorative role assigned to women. Her series 'Queens of Babylon' features female figures with crowns and mantles, inviting viewers to reclaim power without erasing vulnerability. 'The Ezekiel Project' addresses rootlessness after personal traumas like divorce and family health issues, using fragmented bodies and textiles. For over twenty years, Eskell taught art at Staples High School and directed a special program, emphasizing hands-on experience in galleries and studios. Her work ultimately suggests wearing tradition as a mantle that fits, not a blanket that suffocates.