Liam Jeffery

My practice focuses on migrant political histories and social linguistics through diverse material disciplines. Written language is a prominent element in my work, whether used as a central visual motif or as a component combined with visual imagery, such as original photographs and appropriated images. I am particularly interested in the histories of the Australian Left Wing, especially the Australian Labour movement and its associated iconography, in relation to the European settler/migrant diasporas.

Recently, my practice has been expressed through introspective projects like Ruminations of a Sailmaker, a 2023 project featuring ten still photographs of my ancestors’ grave sites, documented in a 20-page pamphlet-style artist’s book. This project sparked a new interest in the specificity of the grave as a metaphor for the person after death, acting as a conduit for ‘living ancestry.’ I view the grave site as an ongoing embodiment of the individual, continuing their life/story as it ages and weathers. My latest works aim to redefine death not as a mere end but as a transformative experience, captured and expressed through frottage and impressions made on paper and clay.