Paper extraordinaire, Benja Harney, has gotten much recognition lately for his paper engineering skills turned career. Much of this comes not only from working with well-known French fashion designer Hermes, music artist Kylie Minogue, and the Sydney Opera House and Mardi Gras, but instead from his ability to turn something simple into something extraordinary.
Harney, a former digital artist, first considered making his skill a profession in 2007, during a time where paper art became big in advertising as a means of competing with digital art.
"I think people were well and truly over that digital focus of the late 90s and were searching for something more organic and tactile," he said to The Australian. "I was tinkering with paper away from my full-time job and that slowly grew. My own path has been pretty organic to this becoming a full-time business."
One of Harney's biggest jobs came when he created a pop-up set for the Romance Was Born brand during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia.
"There's something truly incredible about paper," he says. "The way it can morph to create a new environment is inspiring. Paper does have its limitations but I am determined to push the boundaries of what it can do."
Harney's goal in paper engineering is to continue showing people what paper can do once you play with it a little.
"Every job pushes you and inspires you in new ways," he says. "The work can be mundane but when most people come to me with an idea, it's generally quite exciting. Getting to work with people as amazing and humble as the team at Hermes really pushes you to the next level."
Lego has recently sought Harney out as one of ten leading creators to design a piece on display at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum that will show until the end of July.
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