Leila Jeffreys (born 1972, Papua New Guinea) works across photography, moving image and installation. She is best known for images of birds, photographed at human scale, that explore and subvert the conventions of portraiture. Jeffreys, who lives and works in Sydney with her husband and son, sees her avian subjects as living beings, part of a practice that expands viewer’s hearts by drawing attention to interdependence between species. Jeffreys’ work is a result of years-long periods of research and exploration. In the tradition of artist-activists, she conducts fieldwork, collaborates with conservationists, ornithologists and sanctuaries and champions programs to protect and restore endangered habitats.
Leila Jeffreys' series of works include Bioela Wild Cockatoo 2012, Prey 2014 (birds of prey), Ornithurae 2017 (cockatoos, doves and pigeons) and The wound is where the light enters 2022 (birds with unique red field marks). In addition to rare, endangered and more commoplance species, Jeffreys has also photographed the budgerigar – a commonplace bird in its native country of Australia. A wish to convey that the beauty of small birds is often overlooked led Jeffreys to photograph the budgerigar, in the series entitled High Society 2019, with a similar approach given to a human portrait. Leila Jeffreys wrote of the series: 'It is the result of more than five years of planning and commitment; a pledge to making the impossible possible. It began when I noticed how a flock of native Australian budgerigars look like leaves on a tree. Looking closer I saw individuals, couples, and families – a secret High Society'.
'(Leila's) images are simultaneously serious and witty, gentle and impactful; technically, they are quite miraculous. Her rapport with her subjects, her technical ingenuity, her eye for colour, form and composition and her expertise in the processes of fine art photography combine to create singular works that have often - alas - been imitated but have never come close to being equalled'. (Dr Sarah Engledow, Historian and Curator - National Portrait Gallery of Australia)
Jeffreys has exhibited in Australia and around the world for fifteen years, from Sydney and Melbourne to Paris, Brussels and Los Angeles. In 2023, her work was curated into The Best in Show at Fotografiska in New York, as part of an exhibition dedicated to animals in contemporary photography that toured Tallinn and Stockholm. She featured alongside the world’s most respected photographers as part of Civilisation: The Way We Live Now, a landmark 2023 exhibition at London’s Saatchi Gallery.
Jeffreys is the author of three acclaimed books, including Birdland, released through Hatchette in Australia and New Zealand, Abrams in North America, and Des Oiseaux published by France-based Atelier EXB /Editions Xavier Barral in 2020. Her work is held in Australian and International collections including Parliament House Canberra, Artbank Sydney, the Macquarie Bank Group Collection, the Hermes Collection of Contemporary Photographs, the Western Australian Museum and the Museum of Photography in South Korea.
Jeffreys' artworks have captured the Australian imagination, inspiring Bird Nerd, a documentary by the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABD). in 2022, Australia Post released a set of stamps of her iconic images from the High Society series, a love letter to the budgerigar that first showed in 2019 at Sydney's Olsen Gallery.
Her practice has evolved beyond portaiture into the realm of large-scale conceptual work alongside video and installation art created with collaborator Melvin J Montalban. The artist couples a deep moral vision with a commitment to innovation. She uses advanced cameras to capture her subjects in exquisite detail, inviting her audience into a relationship with birds that revolves around a great depth of perception and startling emotional intimacy.
In a culture that is increasingly disconnected, Jeffreys' art creates spaces for contemplation and wonder while asking urgent questions about the connections between humans and the natural world.