Wolfgang Tillmans

As a young photographer in the early 1990s, Wolfgang Tillmans (b. 1968, Remscheid) became known for his seemingly mundane portraits of his friends, which captured the spirit of his generation and expressed a new kind of subjectivity. For Tillmans, portraiture requires a particular frame of mind – not only for the photographer, but also for the person photographed, as both are on equal terms. 'It is only the mutual acceptance of their respective vulnerability and weakness that enables the making of a strong portrait.' 22 portraits (2000–18) includes images of the artist's collaborators and close friends from a range of cultural disciplines, from dance to architecture, as well as strangers. Collectively, these images raise critical questions about gender identity and the augmented possibilities of image interpretation in a society marked by the accelerated circulation of information.