Zanny Begg’s practice incorporates film, drawing and installation, with a particular interest in exploring hidden or contested histories. The Beehive is a non-linear experimental documentary exploring the unsolved murder of Sydney anti-development campaigner and glamorous style icon Juanita Nielsen in 1975. 

Juanita Nielsen campaigned against the violent eviction of tenants in Kings Cross, who were being pushed out to make way for apartment blocks. Juanita disappeared on the 4th of July 1975. Her body has never been found, and her murderers never charged.

The Beehive consists of scripted fictions, documentary interviews and choreographed scenes with multiple actors playing the role of Juanita. The film is ever-changing, as a different combination of the footage is randomly selected for each screening with 1,344 possible variations. The work presents a kaleidoscopic portrait of Juanita Nielsen and is an exploration of issues (and experiences) of corruption, housing justice, non-conventional lifestyles and gentrification then and now.