Leila Jeffreys was born in Papua New Guinea and raised in Perth, Australia but spent much of her childhood travelling. She grew up surrounded by wildlife and forest both in Australia and abroad, sparking her interest in the natural world. She studied photography at Murdoch and Curtin Universities in Perth, continuing her studies in Sydney at Ultimo TAFE.
Jeffreys began documenting birds by way of photographic portraiture in 2008 when she realised that because of their small size the beauty in the commonplace was being missed.
Dr Sarah Engledow from the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra says: ‘Through a unique combination of technical skill, ingenuity, patience and empathy, Leila Jeffreys creates objects of art that are luxurious visual pleasures in themselves. By abstracting her subjects from their accustomed context she demands focus on form, composition and colour. Stark and warm, objective and celebratory at the same time, her photographs not only enhance our personal surroundings by their presence, but expand our understanding of the world we inhabit.’