LEILA JEFFREYS

Leila Jeffreys (born 1972, Papua New Guinea) works across photography, moving image and installation and is best known for her images of wild birds that explore and subvert the conventions of portraiture. Her subject matter is the result of long periods of research and exploration, collaborating with conservationists, ornithologists and sanctuaries mainly in Australia. She also works to protect and restore endangered species.

Often taking many hours of study, which enable her to build up a rapport with her chosen subject, Leila’s images are serious and witty, technically ingenious, creating a miraculous image of these fabulous creatures showing every hue of their feathers and the intense scrutiny of their startling eyes, particularly of her owls and birds of prey.

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 was included in Civilisation: The Way We Live Now, a landmark 2023 exhibition at London’s Saatchi Gallery.

Leila Jeffrey’s work is held in many public Australian collections as well as in Paris, Seoul and the USA.

A book on Leila's Seabirds will be published b y Thamies & Hudson later in 2026.

From the series Memory of the world, Kākā, 2025

Photograph on archival fibre-based cotton rag paper
Edition of 14 + 2 APs, 112 x 89 cm