Australian photographer Leila Jeffreys, was awarded the 2022 Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship. The acclaimed visual artist said she was overjoyed at the rare chance to witness a remote part of the world. Covid delayed the fellowship until May 2023, when Leila voyaged to Macquarie Island to study seabirds and see the incredible work the scientists and Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service do in keeping the island a wildlife haven.

⁣Lelia says “thanks to the Fellowship, my mind has expanded exponentially, turning my focus towards the Antarctic region, its untamed beauty, the diverse wildlife it houses, and the relentless dedication of those working to protect it. This extraordinary experience has left an indelible mark on my art practice for years to come.”

Best known for visceral and mysterious images of birds that explore and subvert the traditions of portraiture, increasingly, Lelia’s work as an artist is inextricable from her concerns as an environmentalist. Working in the tradition of artist-activists, the artist collaborates with conservationists, ornithologists and sanctuaries around the world to find her subjects before forging an intimate relationship with the birds that she photographs.⁣

Lelia Jeffereys, King Penguins ponder new hobby, 2023. Image courtesy the artist.

It was a white Christmas for Australian Antarctic Art fellows, musician/composer David Bridie and video artist Keith Deverell. Also delayed by COVID-19, they departed aboard the icebreaker, RSV Nuyina, in late December 2023.

Guided by the research of scientist Dr. Joel Pedro, (Lead Scientist of the Australian Antarctic Division’s Million Year Ice Core Project) they planned to create a live art performance and audio-visual projection installation speaking to our rapidly changing climate.

L-R: 2023/24 Australian Antarctic Arts Fellows Keith Deverell and David Bridie, image courtesy the artists. Deck of the icebreaker, RSV Nuyina, image courtesy Keith Deverell and David Bridie. Keith Deverell’s journal, image courtesy Keith Deverell.

Of the project, David says, “As scientists work to decipher climates of our past and fathom our futures, the artist’s role is to translate the science and to turn it into emotion; to illuminate and allow understanding.”

David captured the sounds of Antarctica–the interaction of wind, ice and snow–and integrated them with audio sourced from archival recordings and recorded statements made by influential Antarctica philosophers and scientists. The resulting work will be both a live art performance and an audio-visual projection installation to be presented at festivals, galleries, museums and for educational purposes.

The Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship has been running since 1984 and is supported by the Australian Antarctic Division with additional support provided by ANAT since 2017.

The next round of EOIs for the Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship will open in March 2024.
Register your interest here.

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