Sydney based Leila Jeffreys is a contemporary artist whose work is primarily photography, though also works with video, and installation. She is renown for her particular passion for birds – which are mainly displayed at human scale to challenge the rules of portraiture.
For 15 years, Jeffreys has exhibited globally, from Sydney to Paris, Brussels, and Los Angeles. In 2023, she appeared in "The Best in Show" at Fotografiska, New York, and in the landmark "Civilisation: The Way We Live Now" at London's Saatchi Gallery. She's authored three celebrated books, including Birdland, and her works are held in prestigious collections like Parliament House Canberra, Artbank Sydney, and the Museum of Photography in South Korea.
When photographing birds, Jeffreys treats her feathered subjects as sentient beings, using her art to highlight the interdependence between species. Her practice is fuelled by years of research, fieldwork, and collaborations with conservationists and ornithologists to protect endangered habitats. She notes that you can witness the birds personalities when they sit for her in the studio – with cockatoos being some of the biggest show offs.
Her iconic High Society budgerigar series inspired a documentary and a set of stamps from Australia Post in 2022.
Jeffreys' latest work likes to challenge our increasingly disconnected world by sparking contemplation on human-nature relations.
More recently, her spellbinding work Temple was featured at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) in Canberra. Created by Jeffreys and Melvin J. Montalban, this contemplative, mesmeric video artwork celebrates the awe-inspiring beauty of native cockatoos.
You can see more of her work on her website.