In his early photographs Tillmans portrays the world in terms of differentiation and diversification. Certain ongoing thematic interests emerge - such as the way clothes hang or fall - and the traditional categories of landscape, still-life and figure interweave. His photographs of young people are a powerful affirmation of identity and gender, questioning conventional definitions, poses and perspectives. Lacanau [self] 1986 is a self-portrait, with Tillmans focusing down his body. It verges on the abstract, yet it is real and tangible. The same confidence projects from the images of Lutz and Alex, two of his oldest friends who have acted as his models and collaborators from the outset.
The presentation of his images is a vital consideration, and Tillmans has re-made his first significant solo gallery exhibition from 1993. He recalled: 'I found my signature in terms of showing my pictures in a non-hierarchical way. It was a very radical thing at the time, to show magazine pages alongside original photographs and to leave the photographs unframed; not to make a distinction in terms of value ..For me, the printed page had been a sort of unlimited multiple from the start. since I was designing some of my spreads in i-D at that time (1992-3), they were as close to an original work by me as the print that I was making in my dark room.' Within this tiny white-walled gallery space everything is carefully ordered. Along one wall a series of small black and white pictures are arranged in a straight line (Chemistry Squares 1992, taken by night at the Chemistry Club in London), but then the display spills into a denser arrangement of images, varying in scale and
content. Each image has its own value but operates within the larger network.
