Designed by two fourth-year Product Design students, it is the winning work of the “Red Bench” project
The “Fragment of silence” bench installed at the Consulate General of Italy in Barcelona
Date
12 March 2025
Coinciding with the celebrations of the week of 8 March, International Women’s Day, on 7 March, 'Fragment of silence', IED Barcelona's winning work of the “Red Bench” project, was presented at the Consulate General of Italy in Barcelona. An action promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to raise awareness about combatting violence against women by placing a symbolic bench in its embassies and consulates.
Designed by two fourth-year Product Design students, Federico Jelmini and Abdelaziz Moustafa, ‘Fragment of silence’ represents the traumas that women face due to violence. With a bold red fabric surface and a lateral crack that divides the bench into two unequal parts, it symbolises social fractures and, at the same time, reflects the potential for healing and achieving unity. The pieces can be put back together, as an image of hope, union and collective healing.
The bench is now part of the Italian Consulate General in Barcelona’s collection of designer products, available to users in the waiting room. This reflects Italy’s and its institutions’ ongoing commitment to combating gender-based violence, while also sending a positive and hopeful message.
A project by: Federico Jelmini & Abdelaziz Moustafa
In collaboration with: Álex Estévez & Mermelada Studio
Production: TAAL System
The Consul General of the Consulate General of Italy in Barcelona, Emanuele Manzitti (centre), and Mattia Lupini, Consul of the Consulate General of Italy in Barcelona, together with the students, academics and the Director of IED Barcelona, Andrea Marchesi.
The IED Barcelona Product Design students behind the bench’s design, Abdelaziz Moustafa and Federico Jelmini.
The bench symbolises social fractures, but also the potential for collective unity and healing.
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