Dan Allon | All in order Mr. General

All in Order, Mr. General, solo exhibition, Caos Gallery, Venice, Italy, 2016

In this exhibition, Dan Allon embodies a fictional dictator, his alter ego, exploring power, control, and imprisonment. Drawing on memories, his complex relationship with his father, and post-traumatic experiences from military prison service, the dictator’s presence merges historical references to eccentric generals like Idi Amin Dada and Muammar Gaddafi.

Building on previous works such as Letter to His Father and The Shawish of Section Four, Allon continues to blur roles between prisoner and warden. In this exhibition, he imprisons himself in the gallery for seven days, following a strict daily routine of cooking, cleaning, and drawing. Interaction with the outside world occurs only through letters, while spectators observe his private, performative routine. The installation includes his uniform, functional items, letters, and paintings, inviting viewers into the dictator’s intimate and absurd inner world, without eye contact or verbal exchange.

Through this immersive setup, Allon presents a humorous, intimate, and often embarrassing performance, reflecting on authority, isolation, and the tension between observer and observed.

During the exhibition, the collaborative video Anschluss (2016, 5:53 min) by Allon and Shani Broner was also screened (watch below).

Curators: Karni Barzilai, Alessandra Chiericato & Marco Miglioranza
Director & Head Curator: Chiara Isadora Artico
Photography: Courtesy of Iodeposito
Special Thanks: Giuseppe (Caos Gallery), Manca Bejec, Gerit Christiani, Gil Shachar

An article about the work in Italian: HERE

Special thanks: Gerit Christiani and Gil Shachar.

Anschluss was also exhibited at Anechoic - a two pesron show by Dan Allon and Ana Mrovlje, August-September 2017, at The old mayor's house, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Watch a TV report about the exhibition by PRESSING HERE

Special thanks to: Ana Mrovlje, Chiara Isadora Artico, Bojan Albahari, Mirza Tvrtković, Mateja Veble

Dan Allon performing as the dictator, All in Order Mr. General - solo exhibition at Meshuna Gallery, Tel Aviv, November 6-15, 2014.

Curator: Karni Barzilai

Photo: Anton Abramov

Additional performer: Adar Goldfarb

PR: Anna Bershtansky

Graphic design: Odin Shadmi

Special thanks: Rabinowitz Fund, Eran Inbar, Shimon Allon, Avital Globerman, Oren Fischer, Anton Abramov, Omer Faragi

Letters sent between the prisoner and the warden, both sides of the dictator, during one week imprisonment at Meshuna Gallery:

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The Shawish of Section Four ,solo exhibition, Hayarkon 19 Gallery, Tel Aviv, September 2014

In this performance, Dan Allon revives an alter ego he invented while serving in Kzioth, an Israeli military correctional facility. The Shawish, a Palestinian prisoners’ representative, navigates authority between prisoners and wardens. Allon’s Dictator, an imagined authoritarian, simultaneously inhabits the Shawish’s tent and imagines himself as a warden, creating a zone of indeterminacy.

The performance begins with the Dictator freely walking among the audience, silent and commanding, accompanied by a nonstop snare drum. Objects—plastic plants, blankets, coffee, and cardamom seeds—construct the metaphoric prisoner’s tent. At the end, the Dictator reads a hidden “Letter to his Father,” revealing vulnerability and childhood trauma beneath the authoritarian façade.

The work reflects on power, identity, and intergenerational influence, blurring roles between captor and captive, authority and submission.

Video documentation was forbidden.

Curator: Avi Lubin
Photos: Goni Riskin
Special Thanks: Eran Inbar, Adar Goldfarb, Maria Brock, Miri Segal, Alona Freedberg, Roee Rosen, Boaz Arad

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The Trip to Jisr Az Zarqa, performance in the public sphere, June 2014

Dan Allon conducted a short performance in Jisr Az Zarqa, one of Israel’s poorest communities, embodying his alter ego, The Dictator. Accompanied by fellow artists acting as bodyguards, Allon sat with the mayor, Amash Morad Fathi, sharing tea and cigarettes while discussing local politics and exchanging documents regarding the council’s budgetary needs.

Through this informal encounter, the performance blended real-life political negotiation with performative fiction, highlighting disparities in power, wealth, and authority. The work questioned the role of the outsider, the artist as participant, and the theatricality inherent in official exchanges, turning a casual meeting into a layered social commentary.

Curator: Ruti Sela

Letter to His Father, artist book, installation, and spoken word performance, Herzliya Artist House, Herzliya, Israel, 2014

Dan Allon wrote a 24-page secret letter to his father, inspired by Franz Kafka’s work of the same title. The text contains intimate details and confessions, revealing ambiguous blame and responsibility, remaining private to this day.

The work exists as both an installation and a performance. For the installation, the book was displayed on a school table reminiscent of a Catholic chair-and-desk structure. Visitors were invited to read it individually, encountering harsh, intimate, and unsettling content. The performance featured Allon reading aloud for approximately 25 minutes while wearing the uniform of his alter ego, The Dictator, amplifying the intensity and intimacy of the experience.

The work was also shown in the group exhibitions The Children Are OK (curated by Taly Cohen Garbuz) and Meet Your Critics (Lisa & Heiko, Kreuzberg Pavillon), as well as in the solo show Feel at Home But Don’t Forget It’s My Home (curated by Sharon Toval).

Photo: Yigal Pardo
Curators: Karni Barzilai, Avi Lubin