Leila Jeffreys

Leila Jeffreys is an Australian contemporary artist whose practice spans photography, moving image and large-scale installation. Best known for her finely observed portraits of birds, Jeffreys brings the conventions of formal studio portraiture to subjects more commonly encountered at a distance. Against quiet, neutral grounds, cockatoos, finches, owls and brolgas are presented at human scale, their individual expressions, gestures and physical presence given sustained attention.

Jeffreys works in close collaboration with ornithologists, conservationists, wildlife sanctuaries and carers. Many of the birds appearing in her photographs have been rescued, rehabilitated or raised in care. Her images are made slowly, often following extended periods of observation and research. This measured process is central to the work. Rather than treating birds as decorative emblems or specimens, Jeffreys approaches them as distinct living subjects, each possessing its own character and agency.

In recent years, Jeffreys has expanded her practice beyond the single photographic portrait. Working with filmmaker Melvin J. Montalban, she has developed ambitious moving-image installations that explore flight, courtship, flocking and the social lives of birds. Temple, first commissioned for Vivid Sydney and subsequently presented at the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra, unfolds across a monumental triptych above a reflecting pool. Nest, presented at Vivid Sydney in 2024, centred on the ceremonial dance of the Brolga through a large-scale circular projection.

Across these works, Jeffreys combines technical precision with an emotional directness that is never sentimental. Her subjects meet the viewer’s gaze, occupying the image with an authority that unsettles familiar distinctions between human and animal, portrait and wildlife photograph, observation and encounter.

Jeffreys has exhibited extensively in Australia and internationally, with presentations in Sydney, London, Paris, Brussels, Stockholm, Shanghai, New York and Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in major institutional exhibitions including Civilization: The Way We Live Now at the Saatchi Gallery, London; Best in Show at Fotografiska New York and its international tour; and Modèle animal — 200 ans de photographie at Les Rencontres d’Arles and Photo Elysée, Lausanne.

Her work is held in significant public and corporate collections in Australia, Europe, Asia and the United States. She is the author of Bird Love, Birdland and Des oiseaux, and is the subject of the ABC documentary Bird Nerd: The Art of Leila Jeffreys. In 2022, Australia Post issued a stamp series featuring photographs drawn from her acclaimed High Society body of work.

Leila Jeffreys lives and works in Sydney.

For enquiries, please email hughholm@michaelreid.com.au