The Gas Bill / Bad Research (2017) is a two-person exhibition by Dan Allon and Ari-Pekka Leinonen at Hanut Gallery and Theater, Tel Aviv. Installed in the theater’s street vitrines, Allon’s drawings present provocative Holocaust joke cartoons that resemble children’s illustrations and historical Nazi caricatures, confronting viewers with the uneasy boundary between humor, aesthetics, and trauma. Displayed in a public setting, the works challenge audiences to question whether the images are humorous, disturbing, or both.

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Alongside the drawings, QR codes lead to a video by Leinonen featuring shifting characters inspired by philosopher Henri Bergson, reflecting on the limits of humor and the complexities of cultural distance when addressing Holocaust memory.

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Curator: Tali Kayam
Hanut Gallery, Tel Aviv
July–August 2017

Thanks: Didi Allon