Benja harney biography
- Bio.
- Benja Harney is a paper engineer working with global brands – Google, Samsung, Nike, Hermés and Sydney Opera House, to name a few.
- Benja Harney is a paper engineer.
- •
Benja Harney
Benja Harney makes anything and everything he possibly can with paper. He’s a paper engineer, working with the challenging, humble and endlessly inventive properties of the material each day. With technical precision, Benja incorporates strong and vibrant colour combinations that invoke intrigue and inspire happiness. Benja studied Graphic Design at Sydney Design Centre and works from a studio in Surry Hills, Sydney.
Benja devotes hundreds of hours to labour-intensive projects, including The City of Sydney’s 2016/17 New Years Eve celebrations branding, which involved 600 hours of fabricating the intricate paper artwork. He has worked with major brands like Hermes, Zara, Aperol, Vogue Living, Samsung Galaxy, H&M Conscious Collection, and collaborated in the non-profit space with organisations including R U OK DAY? and the Breast Cancer Foundation.
YouTube. I’m totally hooked! There is so much to learn about any subject you can think of. I find it endlessly fascinating to have it playing in the background a
- •
Benja Harney
Interview by Peter Salhani | Photography by Billy ZAmmit
How did you get into paper engineering?
I was studying graphic design at Enmore College in about 2003. We had a class called paper construction. My teacher was into paper engineering, although we didn’t know it was called that. We had to make things like simple pop-up mechanisms, a folder for your CD-Roms (back in the day). It was something I really enjoyed doing, and I kind of fell in love with paper.
What made you fall in love with paper?
I think it was the memory of being young. My dad’s an engineer. As kids we were always making and building things: model airplanes, Lego. At the time I was studying graphic design, it had a very digital focus, but there was also a new wave emerging where physical objects were becoming important. So when I discovered that I could make tangible objects as part of graphic design, I got really interested. I was just in the right place at the right time.
“It was the memory of being young.”
Your first paper commission?
I’
- •
Karingal Hub Arts Trail
Precinct Artworks & Interior Design
LOCATION
Karingal Hub
Frankston, Victoria
ARTISTS
Abbey Rich, Benja Harney, Claire Foxton, Kyle Hughes-Odgers, Lauren Carney, Studio Dennis, Tristan Kerr
PHOTOGRAPHY
Trystin Sinnott
The Project
Authority Creative curated and produced a multi-disciplinary Arts Trail integrated throughout Karingal Hub, facilitating the connection of people and place, and encouraging customers to dwell and discover. We worked with the artists to create murals, sculptural installations, furniture and more, with a mixture of bright and subdued hues carrying throughout each connecting space of the hub, bringing land and sea together.
Karingal, translating to ‘Happy Home’ in Koori Language underpins the energy of Karingal Hub; a place for play and connection. Situated amongst nature reserves and surrounded by sea, Franskton’s Karingal Hub is a unique place for curiosity to thrive amongst its community of farmers, families, outdoor enthusiasts and creatives.
Copyright ©spyalley.pages.dev 2025