Ava polished bronze bench by Fakasaka Design.Dimensions: W 45 cm, D 45 cm, H 59.5 cm.Materials: polished bronze.Alexia Vela Akasaka is an interdisciplinary Brazilian designer born to a Bolivian mother and a Japanese father. Raised in São Paulo, Brazil, she moved to the UK in 2020 to pursue a foundation diploma in arts and design at Central Saint Martins. Following that, she attended the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, earning a Bachelor's degree in Architecture and Interdisciplinary Studies in 2024.Alexia's mixed heritage deeply informs her design work, where she explores how different cultural and ethnic identities blend, clash, and coexist in Brazilian contemporary culture. This is often expressed in her work through shape and form as a subtle cue to explore experiences and the process of self-discovery, which are brought through quiet references to people and moments lived interwoven within fluid shapes.Ava Bench:Created during the COVID-19 pandemic, the AVA Bench was a response to the AVA collection by Alexia's father, Fernando Akasaka. Unlike the rest of the collection, this piece captures the growing pains into adulthood navigating family and personal tensions during Brazil’s national lockdown—a time marked by economic, social, and political upheaval under the leadership of a far-right government. This is embodied through the image of an androgynous figure pulled in multiple directions at once—overstretched, suspended, and unable to move forward. The character's lack of distinct features reflects Akasaka's acknowledgment that this was more than a personal matter but a shared uncertainty, disorientation, and unease that defined her generation at the time.