Benja Harney
12 Aug 2022
Mimco is excited to announce our collaboration with Sydney-based artist, Benja Harney.
In line with the launch of Reclaim, our new sustainable collection made using recycled plastic bottles, we commissioned a series of bespoke sculptures by Benja—highlighting the beauty of working with found objects, and giving new life to materials that have been deemed as waste. Below, discover how these unique pieces were made.
1. You're a paper engineer by trade. What inspired the move to recycled plastics?
“Last summer I took on a client commission responding to marine plastic in our oceans by creating a series of huge sculptures using recycled plastic. Having never attempted anything this large that wasn't paper before, I really didn't know if I would succeed. After three months' work, I realised how much I had enjoyed the process and how working with a new, unknown material really pushed my creativity and took my construction skills to a whole new level. The possibilities of using recycled plastic were completely invigorating and have really piqued my curiosity!”
2. How did you go about creating the Mimco artworks?
“This was my second project using recycled plastics, so it was a challenge to take the materials in another direction again as per the brief for our shoot. Mimco is using recycled bottles to make fabric for their products which is a great narrative to respond to. In this instance, I gathered materials and sat with them observing for a few days - just experimenting with different combinations and playing. I was lucky to find a huge cache of plastic bottles during my sourcing forays which were the perfect base element to begin building with.”
3. What message are you hoping to convey with these pieces?
“For me, the personal message in this project has been nothing short of a complete 180 with my creative thinking. I hope people who see these images get a sense of that. When designing things with paper you (generally) need to used fresh/new materials for the best result. Using recycled/found materials in the creative process is adding value to items that have been deemed as waste which is a great mind shift. A project like this totally changes my view on what's possible and the kinds of things I would like to make in the future.”
4. Where did you source your materials from?
“I sourced my materials mainly from the superb community initiative Reverse Garbage (in Tempe NSW) but also from some op-shops and The Bower (in Marrickville NSW). Apart from some wooden dowel I used for the centre poles of the totems, all the plastic/Styrofoam materials used in this project were reused/recycled and sourced with this in mind.”5. What kind of challenges do you encounter when working with found objects?
“You really don't know what you're going to find and how everything will work together. When you buy paper for a project you kind of already know this part of the sequence. These items aren't off the shelf, so you need to use quirky, offbeat creative thinking to find interesting and complimentary combinations. It's like a huge 3D jigsaw puzzle, the outcome of which is not completely mapped out before you begin. You have to trust the process and believe in what you produce.”
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