Branch no. 1 is a work by photographic and video artist Leila Jeffreys in the Parliament House Art Collections.
This work is from Jeffreys’ 2022 series The wound is the place where the light enters, which evolved from the artist’s visceral response to the devastating 2019-2020 Australian bushfires. In the series, she selected birds that were both endangered and had natural red markings. These birds become visual metaphors for a ‘wound’ evoking environmental damage, a sense of empathy and interdependence between all living species, and our desire to cherish these creatures of remarkable beauty.1
The depicted Gouldian finches were once found across northern Australia in their millions but in recent decades the population has declined dramatically to an estimated 2,500 mature individuals. The species is now only found in small flocks in a few locations in the Kimberley and the Northern Territory, and occasionally in Queensland.2
Leila Jeffreys
Sydney-based artist Leila Jeffreys (born 1972) was born in Papua New Guinea. She studied photography as part of a Bachelor of Arts at Curtin University (1993) and Murdoch University (1994). In 1999 she completed an Advanced Certificate III in Photography from Ultimo TAFE College in Sydney.3 Jeffreys has exhibited widely across Australia and internationally, including in London, New York and Hong Kong. Jeffreys is also the author of three books featuring her photography. Her work is held in Australian and international collections.4
References
1. Leila Jeffreys “The Wound Is The Place Where The Light Enters 2022”, accessed September 24, 2025. https://leilajeffreys.com/blogs/exhibitions/the-wound-is-the-place-where-the-light-enters
2. WWF, “Gouldian finch”, accessed September 24, 2025. https://www.wwf.org.au/what-we-do/species/gouldian-finch/#gs.SRXFq2I
3. Olsen Gallery, “Leila Jeffreys: Curriculum Vitae”, access September 24, 2025. https://www.olsengallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Jeffreys_2025CV.pdf
4. Leila Jeffreys, “Bio”, accessed September 24, 2025. https://leilajeffreys.com/pages/bio
Leila Jeffreys (born 1972)
Branch no. 1, 2022
inkjet print on archival fibre-based cotton rag paper
Parliament House Art Collections