[1] Born in Christchurch, Harrison started his career as a window dresser with the D.I.C department store in his home town, while taking night classes in patternmaking.
[4] Harrison worked with Auckland fashion designer Colin Cole before opening his own boutique, Jasper Johnsons Jamboree, in Takapuna, and developed a reputation for his gowns, bespoke suits and bridal wear.
[6] These works "reflected fabric art trends of the time - traditional American quilting techniques depicted subjects including Kiwi aviation pioneer Richard Pearse".
[1][6] Other commissions include Oceania, located in the Bank of New Zealand tower in Queen Street in Auckland, and work in the North Shore City Council Chambers.
[9] He created a new body of work as recipient of the award, drawing inspiration from Francisco Goya's etching, The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (c.
[11] In 2018 The Dowse Art Museum will show Sleeping Arrangements, an exhibition that brings a selection of Harrison's quilts together with works by three other artists of different generations to his own: Grant Lingard (1961–1995), Zac Langdon-Pole (b.