The photos, which appear at first glance to be snapshots, are in fact precisely considered and composed pictures in which the strong presence of the central motive stands out.

The subject (of both photos) are the most common and, at the same time, most extensively disseminated articles of clothing in the world; these are what Tillmans build up into icons. Everyone can find their way in these works, access is familiar and on the other hand, the specialisation that Tillmans presents is experienced as completely normal. You can almost smell the sex still rising from the trousers; it sprays Tillmans’ work with the whole haze of London’s East End. One encounters this motive also in videos, which catch hold of the whole heartbeat rhythm of the music scene and well as the daily hunt for sex. The unconscious reduction to this level makes Tillmans’ work so precisely relevant to the surroundings in which it moves. It is exactly these snapshots, taken in his immediate surroundings, that he invests with an immense presence and cult character.

This was already established as the content of what he did right at the beginning of his photographic career when he was making reports recording youth culture for scene magazines. Now he is a subtle observer of things that no one else notices. In the process, he always operates with the unexpected. Coincidence becomes a calculable fact to be taken into consideration. This is true both at the time the shot is made, as well as during the development of the photo – it even extends to hanging a show. With all of this, his concern is with reversing habits of seeing.

Georg Kargl, 2005 (translation: Tim Sharp)