The Crepuscule or The Sunshine of Olympics

Photo by Olaf Nicolai, courtesy of artist
 

By LARA PAN June 19, 2024 

If you happen to be in Athens this summer, don’t miss the exquisite installation by German artist Olaf Nicolai. Two photographs are displayed on billboards, titled “I never look at you from the place from which you see me”, organized by Tavros Space, are presented opposite the Panathenaic Stadium in central Athens and are visible until the 7th of July. 

In this project, a previous version of which was shown at Elgin Art Gallery, Nicolai is playing with visual layers, language, and nonlinear structures.

He uses literature as a conceptual universe to articulate a novel creative language that oscillates between visual arts and the written word. In his title, he hints at the poetic aspect inherent to the work.

In light of Olaf Nicolai’s approach to the Olympics, it is impossible not to mention Mircea Eliade in conjunction with Jens Lind’s documentary, The Sunshine Olympics. Eliade’s theories on ritual and the sacred provide a valuable framework for understanding the Olympic Games. Similar to Eliade, Nicolai’s research reflects on the analysis of universal symbols and archetypes that can be connected and applied to Olympic symbols. Nicolai transforms these symbols into a distorted visual imagery that shifts between abstract and deformed landscapes, playing particularly with imagery reflective of the Olympic flame. 

Photo by Uwe Walther

The two photographs displayed on the billboards were taken in June 2022 in Ancient Olympia, Greece, using a parabolic mirror—the very mirror used every two years to ignite the Olympic torch with the sun’s rays. The parabolic mirror conjures media images of the ceremonial lighting of the flame and the ensuing torch relay, rituals inaugurated for the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. 

These symbolic gestures are embodied in the parabolic mirror, still in use today. The image, created through the mirror, therefore provokes a double game: the narrative is interrupted by the architecture of the landscape and the landscape is interrupted by the visual image This dynamic interplay challenges viewers and creates a captivating experience where perspectives and layers continuously shift and interact. 

Olaf Nicolai’s art has always enchanted viewers. And the scrutiny in the current historical moment of the evolution of the Olympic Games and their economic and political aspects, as well as the anticipation of their future evolution, only underscores the relevance of his work. 

Nicolai’s intriguing use of parabolic mirrors, rituals, and their complex connections to the lighting ritual and its symbolism in the Olympic flame invites us to consider the flame as a symbolic reenactment of the Promethean myth. This myth, which involves bringing the divine fire of the gods to humanity, bridges the past with the idea of a modern Prometheus shaping our future. 

Photo by Stathis Mamalakis
 

According to Eliade, rituals often reenact mythic events, allowing participants to connect with the original, sacred time of creation. The Olympic Games, with their ceremonies and traditions, can be viewed as modern rituals that recreate the mythic ideal of human excellence and competition. Jens Lind’s documentary highlights 1912 as a turning point for the Olympic founder Pierre de Coubertin’s grand idea. The 1912 Games are considered the first modern Olympics, featuring electronic timing, photo finishes, and film rights sold exclusively. Thus, we are getting closer to the idea of a Modern Prometheus. Incorporating Eliade’s study with the idea of a Modern Prometheus is a way of mirroring the future of the Olympic Games in the coming centuries. How technology will influence the Olympics of the future remains to be seen, but the Promethean myth will continue to inspire cultural and philosophical reflections on human progress, creativity, and the potential dangers of overreaching.

Photo by Stathis Mamalakis

In an interview, Nicolai states, “In order to achieve the possible, we need to demand the seemingly impossible.” Sometimes creative endeavors seem impossible. Yet great art and science often stem from pursuing seemingly unattainable goals, such as the human quest for perfection and the Olympic ideal of surpassing oneself. This relentless pursuit reflects the concept of “homo superior,” where humans strive to transcend their limitations and achieve extraordinary feats. 

The displayed works reveal images that emerge when a parabolic mirror is confronted with another type of mirror—a camera—instead of a torch. As Nicolai says, “My photos make a paradox visible.” In ancient Greece, Prometheus had the gift to see the future of humanity. Looking at the global political landscape and the unstoppable progress of technology, Nicolai’s work perhaps plays with the idea of a fortune teller, making a paradox visible. What if the Olympics of the future are a paradox in themselves? WM