‘Look at me like you don’t like me’: Why this photographer loves capturing women at their fiercest

“Just look at me for a moment like you don’t like me.” It’s an unusual approach, but after more than a decade of photographing women, it’s one Suzanne Phoenix finds works well.

Women have long been told to smile, make nice, be good; do not be difficult. The Yarra Valley-based photographer turns that idea on its head in her images, instead inviting her subjects to be fierce.

Photographs of Spiderbait’s Janet English, singer-songwriter Candice Lorrae, Kate Dillon of Full Flower Moon Band, and Evie and Gigi from Public Figures are among the 23 images to be shown at Phoenix’s annual show at the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre this month.

Raw and honest, the black and white portraits - which celebrate women and is timed to coincide with International Women’s Day - capture something of who the person is. Phoenix says using black and white strips away all the other things that can distract you, and adds that the portrait all comes down to the eyes.

This is the 15th year that Phoenix has produced the series, which includes cis and trans women and gender diverse people, and brings the number of images in the series to 200. Others featured over the years include Casey Donovan, Kerri Simpson and Georgia Knight.

On the day of the shoot, some people just want to get in and get out, Phoenix says, while others sit on the couch and are keen for a chat.

While those subjects who are very comfortable in front of the camera often look amazing, that is not necessarily the picture Phoenix wants to shoot.

“I don’t want to see the same person I can see everywhere else,” she says. “I talk to them about the fact the photo is just for this series [and] say I want you to have a think about how you present in this because this will be recorded in history and document you in 50 or 100 years and what you thought about International Women’s Day. I do find that shifts people’s energy around what they want to show.”

Phoenix has always been into photography and music, and says that for her, they go hand in hand. The annual Community Cup fundraiser, in which the Triple R Rockdogs take on 3PBS’ Megahertz is a fixture on her calendar, and she has documented the event for nearly two decades.

For as long as Phoenix can remember, it was instilled in her that photography was important. “My nana, she was a terrible photographer, but I actually adore her photos,” she says. “You couldn’t create those photos if you tried. It wasn’t just about the outcome; it was about the act of documenting people and place, and that drives my work. I had no idea back then, obviously, but I look at it now and I’m like, ‘Oh, I see now.’ That documentation is really important to me.”

Last year, State Library Victoria acquired the then entire collection of 177 portrait prints; some prints are also held in the National Library of Australia, the National Portrait Gallery and the Australian Queer Archives. Each person photographed also provides a statement about International Women’s Day.

There’s something powerful about that permanence, Phoenix says, and hearing directly from the artist: “It resists simplification and preserves complexity.”

It’s a massive project and a labour of love, given it is entirely self-funded. Phoenix is not sure if she will continue the project next year. Last year was her first year as a full-time artist, but she has decided it is not sustainable and is looking for a job. “I never planned to be an artist; I was a maths science kid,” she says with a laugh.

Phoenix says the idea of International Women’s Day is good in principle, but she’s not a fan of the way it is celebrated.

“What it should represent is extremely important but in Australia, it has become very corporatised, and it’s diluted. In a lot of workplaces, it’s soggy croissant breakfasts and high-priced dinners with people speaking,” she says.

“I don’t feel like those things make much difference to the everyday woman or promote equality or advocate for women’s rights. Most of the people I approach for this project do not have strong, positive feelings about International Women’s Day; they’re pretty jaded about it. Many have really negative feelings actually about it and a real resistance to it.

“Some of those women still say yes to being part of [the exhibition], and so I think the series helps change that dynamic with them, and gives a place to express people’s individual experience based on gender, so hopefully it’s a bit more of a subversive offering around IWD.”

How important is it to her to photograph women? It’s critical. “I can’t imagine doing my work without women being a huge part of it,” she says.

“I want to make positive, real photos of women particularly, and trans women and gender diverse people as well, to increase visibility and representation. That’s my driver.”

International Women’s Day 2026 | Suzanne Phoenix Exhibition is at the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre until April 15.

suzannephoenix.com/iwd