Nosso Monumental Senna

From personal memory to the Interlagos racetrack

The memory of Ayrton Senna, a true global sports hero, remains alive and vibrant, and a mother's intimate commission has become a grand project aimed at the public.

After completing the smaller-scale, traditional-looking version of the Ayrton Senna bust, commissioned by the driver's mother, the Senna family, through Senna Brands, decided to enlarge the monumental piece. The goal was to make it accessible and free to Ayrton's fans, as a way to repay the constant affection the driver and his family have received since 1984, when he made his Formula 1 debut with the Toleman team.

For Lalalli Senna, this development provided an opportunity to develop her personal vision of her three-time world champion uncle. Artistically, Lalalli sought to express the meanings that a 21st-century bust could convey, especially by uniting family memories with the passions of fans. "I learned that there is a Greek concept for the verb 'to look' that means to cast 'light with the eyes.' According to some ancient theories, this light generates a communion, where, when illuminated, the object also transforms the observer. That was the image I was looking for."

Deciding that the piece would be 3.5 meters tall to dominate a large area around it, Lalalli began working in her studio with white material. “I still wasn't 100% convinced with the result of the original bust, so I decided to scan it and digitally manipulate the image to achieve what I wanted. I was only convinced one day, when I looked at that giant face from the scaffolding where I was standing, and felt that Ayrton saw me. At that moment, I realized I still remembered him exactly as I had seen him when I was little, after years of grief from the tragic loss. There, I felt I had poured the Ayrton I kept inside into the work, with my energy. This moved me, and I realized it was finally ready.”

"There, I felt that I had put into the work the Ayrton I kept inside me, with my energy. This moved me, and I realized that it was finally ready."

Lalalli Senna

Executed at Fundiart in Piracicaba, São Paulo, the casting of the mirrored material also proved another challenge, as the mirroring altered the work's features, eliminating the original sculpture's light and dark patterns. To correct this, Lalalli finished the work by painting certain parts of the bust with bitumen, restoring the necessary contrasts to make Ayrton's appearance recognizable—a task accomplished precisely the week that "Nosso Senna" was inaugurated at the José Carlos Pace Racetrack in Interlagos, marking the 50th anniversary of the Brazilian Grand Prix.

On the track where the driver achieved his unforgettable victories in 1991 and 1993, the aluminum sculpture gathered thousands of fans, who praised the work's striking resemblance to their idol. The image of the bust was broadcast to over a hundred countries and reproduced and printed in a variety of international media outlets, including TV Globo, Sky Sports Italia, and the BBC.

At the same event, the Senna family presented a smaller replica of the work to celebrated Ayrton fan, British driver Lewis Hamilton, seven-time world champion. The gift was a gesture of gratitude for Hamilton's public devotion and recognition of the Brazilian driver's sporting legacy. "He always publicly supported Ayrton and is a great spokesperson for his legacy," Lalalli emphasizes.

With "Nosso Senna" finally installed at Interlagos, the choice of multifaceted aluminum proved to be a good one. The material's ability to reflect light and image served the artist's main purpose: to show that Ayrton's two dimensions—the public and the private—were equally grounded in an intense exchange with everyone who came into contact with the athlete.

I chose the mirror to symbolize two aspects of Ayrton that, for me, are fundamental: first, his generous personality, since he always looked at others as equals,” says Lalalli. “If he were here, he would certainly be reflecting and reciprocating people's affection, and in a way, the sculpture does this for him: it 'looks back,' it gives back what it receives. The second aspect is the symbolic role he occupies through the collective dimension that his public identity projects to this day. For many, Ayrton embodies the figure of the hero who represented the luminous aspects of national identity, overcoming with grit and values to take Brazil to the top. My idea was to represent to all who admire him that this trait of his lives on within us. Looking at him inevitably means seeing yourself and connecting with this luminous dimension of the hero, with your own inner energy, and representing the values that inspired Ayrton in everything he did.”