Warburton-based photographer Suzanne Phoenix’s biggest exhibition yet will showcase 13 years of Melbourne’s queer community at the Midsumma Festival.
The Queer Naarm exhibition takes place from 20 January to 1 February at the SOL Gallery in Fitzroy, where 50 photos act as a celebration of queer identity and history.
Ms Phoenix said the body of work documented Melbourne’s biggest queer events and the strong culture within them.
“From 2013 to 2025 I’ve been documenting some of the biggest queer events in Melbourne over that period of time, including Pride March and Midsumma Festival and Victoria’s Pride Street Party,” she said.
“It feels pretty exciting and it feels a bit nerve-wracking as well.”
Ms Phoenix released a book for the exhibition and was also nominated for the Midsumma Art Award.
The exhibition depicts colourful scenes of unfiltered joy and people expressing themselves freely, surrounded by likeminded people and shielded from the hate and discrimination the LGBTQIA+ communities are often subject to.
There’s certainly a sense of freedom throughout the series. Exaltation beams from the faces of those pictured, not bothered by gender conventions.
The extravagant outfits worn are a fashion statement as much as they are an act of resistance. From risque fetish fashion to the defiant drag wear, the outfits themselves represent physical freedom.
Ms Phoenix said it was crucial to have the consent of those pictured.
“The main thing that I photograph is people in these scenarios. It’s all about people, so consent is really important to me. It’s really just representing them and putting them out into the world,” she said.
“I’m excited because these photos are people showing amazing sides of themselves and that they’re happy for those to be put out into the world.”
When the State Library Victoria approached Ms Phoenix to acquire her esteemed International Women’s Day (IWD) series, they were also interested in her documentation of queer communities in Melbourne.
“Rather than the photographer not being part of that community and just documenting from outside, one of the boxes I ticked was they really wanted the artist to be part of the community they were documenting,” she said.
After reviewing the initial 2000 photographs, the State Library settled on a final cut of 50 photographs which make up the exhibition.
Ms Phoenix identifies as queer herself and when she moved to Warburton in 2013, she would regularly travel back into the suburbs to attend queer events tp strengthen her connection with her own community.
“There’s multiple reasons why I go to the events but certainly being able to connect and be part of something much bigger, which doesn’t happen a lot out here.
“It definitely was a way for me to be part of a community.”
The exhibition teems with positivity and Ms Phoenix said a lot of the photos are in moments of celebration.
“When I watched someone go through the book the other day, they laughed and certainly a smile was on their face most of the time. I think the work creates an uplifting feeling,” she said.
“The marriage equality rally was probably not celebration, it’d been a hard week for everyone.
“But even in those photos I think they’re showing strength and they’re positive images,” Ms Phoenix said.
Iconic figures of the queer community are also seen, such as Australian drag artist Reuben Kaye and the much-loved Miss Candee who sadly died in 2022.
With one of Ms Phoenix’s photos being nominated for the Midsumma Art Award, the Warburton photographer is hopeful she’ll take home the prize.
“It’s one of the things I’ve long hoped one day I’d be in, I’ve applied for submissions for years and years and years, so I was very excited as this is the first time [I’ve been nominated],” Ms Phoenix said.
