Staging an exhibition centered on a unique collection of 43 Olympic torches within a museum context carries inherent risks, primarily that of devolving into a mere celebratory display of historical artifacts, however precious or significant. However, “What We Carry,” a compelling exhibition by Sonia Leimer and Christian Kosmas Mayer, hosted at Museion in Bolzano until March 29, 2026, successfully transcends this pitfall. Through a carefully balanced orchestration of physical, metaphorical, and historical dimensions, presented in an elegant setup, the exhibition fully illuminates not only the design but also the profound symbolic weight of the Olympic torches. It masterfully reveals how these torches and the Olympic flame are intricately woven into both grand narratives and intimate personal histories of power, visibility, and cultural heritage.
It is no coincidence that this project, an integral part of the Cultural Olympiad for Milano Cortina, emerged as the winner of an invited call launched in 2025. This call specifically targeted internationally recognized South Tyrolean artists whose works are represented in the Museion collection. As the fervor surrounding the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games gradually subsides, “What We Carry,” as its title aptly suggests, also serves as an invitation to contemplate what truly endures—what we aspire to project into the future of a major global sporting event, moving beyond fleeting celebrations and controversies. Bart van der Heide, director of Museion, emphasized, “The exhibition prompts reflection on what it means to transmit a legacy, be it personal, cultural, or political.”
The journey through the exhibition commences with a striking visual impact: serving as the pedestal for the Olympic torches, which span from 1936 to 2024 and are on loan from the Olympic Aid and Sport Promotion Project, is an enormous 50-meter-long sculpture. This impressive structure evokes an athletic track but is ingeniously shaped like an eight, a potent symbol of infinity.
This method of presentation, with its highly evocative outcomes, echoes an approach Sonia Leimer has frequently employed in her “Platzhalter” sculpture series. In these works, urban remnants or components are isolated and transformed into ambiguous objects that blur the lines between sculpture, signage, and infrastructure. Perhaps due to its direct relevance to the “sporting” dimension of the exhibited items, Leimer’s installation at Museion cultivates a sense of familiarity rather than estrangement. The Olympic torches are not simply showcased; they are embraced within a collective presentation that simultaneously honors them as a cohesive group and as distinct individual pieces, allowing for a more unexpectedly moving face-to-face encounter with these historical artifacts.
Visitors discover that some torches still bear tangible traces of the burning flame and scorch marks, while the passage of time, shifting tastes, and evolving trends have profoundly shaped their design, dimensions, and colors over the decades. Through a QR code and an accompanying publication, one can delve deeply into the unique history of each torch – an irresistible invitation to explore those that seem determined to stand out. For instance, there is the distinctive blue torch designed by Pininfarina for the Turin 2006 Winter Games, standing 77 cm tall and intended to evoke the iconic Mole Antonelliana. A quiet smile might also escape visitors when encountering the torch created by Philippe Starck for the Albertville 1992 Winter Games. It is an iconic design, yet we learn that it was reportedly difficult to hold due to its width, so “ergonomic” that many commentators humorously compared it to a sex toy.
Conspicuously absent from the main display of torches is one crucial piece: the very first, originating from the 1936 Berlin Olympics. This particular torch is given a dedicated space, exhibited in a separate room and integrated into Christian Kosmas Mayer’s sculptural installation. Designed by sculptors Walter Lemcke and Peter Wolf, this torch bears an engraved imperial eagle, the *Reichsadler*, tightly clutching the Olympic rings, alongside the manufacturer’s name, Krupp—a notorious German factory that produced armaments for the Third Reich.
In stark and poignant contrast to this cold metallic presence and its troubling Nazi symbolism, the exhibition features numerous young oak saplings, carefully housed within sculptural elements that function as miniature greenhouses. These saplings are a central component of Mayer’s extensive research, which delved into the profound and often overlooked story of African American high jumper Cornelius Cooper Johnson. Despite winning a gold medal in Berlin in 1936, Johnson received no institutional recognition, ignored in Nazi Germany and subsequently marginalized in his home country, the United States. Upon his return from the Games, Johnson planted his “Olympic oak”—a tree traditionally gifted to all 130 gold medal-winning athletes—in Los Angeles. Decades later, Mayer rediscovered this historically significant oak in Koreatown and meticulously “brought” its descendants into the Museion exhibition. As Museion eloquently explains in an accompanying note, “In dialogue with the torch, the oak embodies a powerful contrast: the ephemeral fire of propaganda against the enduring rootedness of lived history.”
Mayer’s installation is, above all, a profound gesture of care and remembrance. From Johnson’s athletic shoes to the very pruning shears used on the original tree, the artist meticulously traces the ninety-year journey of both the athlete and the oak through engaging texts and delicate reproductions on gold leaf. Reading the plant’s informational card reveals fascinating details: the English refer to it as an English oak, while the Germans call it a German oak, yet it thrives robustly throughout Europe—making it impossible not to reflect on the inherent absurdity of borders, not just in botany but in human experience.
The exhibition journey culminates with Sonia Leimer’s new video artwork, “Solar.” In this piece, Leimer reinterprets the ceremonial origins of the Olympic tradition, featuring footage of the parabolic mirrors from both Lausanne and Athens. A slow, reflective voice ponders the concepts of warmth, fire, and the intrinsic formal qualities of the torches themselves. While the heroic ideals often associated with the Games may seem distant in contemporary times, the video’s evocative sound and imagery immerse the viewer in a suspended, archaic dimension, drawing them incredibly close to the ancient rituals from which the entire Olympic phenomenon initially took form.
