In Tanis’ work Isolation, standardization and the mass-produced are important themes. He also thinks it is important to make people aware and confront them with subjects they often pass by or ignore.
Important motifs in Tanis’ work are the buildings and the urban landscape. They both are a symbol of what is happening in the world. In our society there is less time for one another and people are more distant. The repetition and rhythm of the recurring form in buildings and neighbourhoods are a symbol for the anonymity of the contemporary urban environment and the isolation of the people who live in it. It can also be seen as a critique on the mass produced. Tanis’ work about people, animals or everyday objects refer also to this theme. He wants to show the less attractive side of (family) life. The media inundates us with sex and stereotypes. People need to meet a certain standard to be found ‘beautiful’. One must keep a certain lifestyle, which is ‘accepted’ and ‘normal’. The media determines what is beautiful and how people judge things. It provides a standardization in society, from identical shopping malls to the ‘idealization’ of the human body. Tanis wants to show the other side and go beyond the façade.