VDA Trailers has commissioned Francesco Bongiorni, a young illustrator originally from Milan, to design the TORX® 2021 poster. The collaboration is founded on Francesco’s in-depth knowledge of the Valle d’Aosta, with which he has been closely linked since childhood, and the shared values that underpin the TORX®.
The poster portrays the moment of reaching the top of a mountain when fatigue mingles with a momentous sense of achievement for completing the task. The figure in the picture takes in the scenery spread out below, inviting him to contemplate his own being in the vastness of the nature that surrounds him. This is the essence of the TORX® spirit, that pulsing in the veins, that singular passion that drives giants to keep going peak after peak, despite the fatigue, despite the bad weather. The same inner strength that we have all drawn on throughout this last year marked by the pandemic. This poster is the first sign that things are getting back on track towards a difficult, challenging, but nonetheless optimistic future.The mountains represent a second but no-less-important image in the picture; the spectacular scenery of the TORX® routes gives observers a sense of being suspended between dream and reality; a sensation runners often experience when they reach a summit.
This illustration has been an opportunity for Francesco Bongiorni to express his personal vision of TORX®, which he has always known and followed; having lived in Spain for a number of years however, especially through the pandemic, it has also been a way for him to feel closer to his homeland. The grandeur of TORX® and the magnificent natural heritage of the Valle d’Aosta are reflected in the illustrator’s portrayal, arising from his sense of familiarity and belonging to the region.Bongiorni has worked with some major publications in the world of journalism and some well-known international organisations, including The New York Times, Football Club Inter Milano, Air France, The Guardian, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and Johns Hopkins University. As he says, “when I think of the Valle d'Aosta, I feel at home. I have spent all my holidays in the region, winter and summer, since I was a child, and wherever I am in the world, I know my heart belongs there." He goes on, "my work gives me the chance to travel constantly in my imagination and express myself concisely through my style. I put all my energy and all my artistic skill into every piece of work I do, but with TORX it was different - it was all about my feelings and my emotional connection with the mountains of the Valle d’Aosta".