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Shaving in India
An entry of Hannes Seebacher’s travel diary

Copyright esbjerg.com Fotograf: Hannes Seebacher
The highly esteemed photographer Hannes Seebacher is known to turn mother nature into a wonderful scenery for his spectacular pictures. For many years, he is in close cooperation with ESBjERG, capturing nature in every shot and showing how pure shaving can be. The Austrian artist sees shaving as a cross-cultural and timeless ritual, which is practiced by men and women all across the world. The following report will enable you to experience Hannes Seebacher’s journey yourself.

In search of extraordinary methods of shaving, the idea of travelling to India was born. As his tasker, ESBjERG gave Hannes Seebacher the time and effort he needed. Without further plans but a whole lot of creativity and sensitivity, Hannes Seebacher started his journey into the unkown. His only travel companion was a small black journal in which he wrote down his observations and impressions. Reading through the pages the adventure can be brought back to life. Such a travel companion is for one loyal and also patient, sharing all its well-kept stories and reviving forgotten memories. Eager for his trip to start, his first entry was already written on the plane.

Arriving in New-Dehli, Hannes Seebacher got to know the city in all its shapes and sizes. The inhabitants made a relaxed and calm impression on him. After experiencing the metropolis, it was time to discover nature’s beauty. What could possibly be more exciting than to scout through the barrenness of the desert?

Hannes Seebacher held on to his idea of traveling through the desert land. Confident of his idea, he organized himself a guide to accompany him on his journey, a man named Marthar. Walking through heat and sand, the two men became close friends. Trekking through the desert’s shrubs and sand, guided by only three camels and Mathar, this part of the journey was especially memorable to Hannes Seebacher, feeling like discovering the moonscape. For the nature fascinated artist, the walk through the desert was a real sensation, serving as inspiration for many of his later works and ideas. Such as buying a camel for his friend Mathar, so he could work as a guide independently. Only having two camels left, one was kept by himself and the other one was acquired by ESBjERG. To help his friend Mathar into self-employment, he offered further help and support even when already being back in Europe.

Nature’s beauty even inspired him to devote the only tree they passed in the desert to ESBjERG. He simply cut into the tree’s bark, in order for it to hold his shaving utensils and to hang up his little travel mirror. Sitting on blanket, in the middle of the barren landscape, he used the opportunity to shave. This is the story to the wonderful picture bellow.

Hannes Seebacher while shaving himself
Copyright esbjerg.com Fotograf: Hannes Seebacher

Another destination on his trip was Jaisalmer- the village in the heart of the desert. The houses surrounding the small town are made of yellow and brown sandstone, which look as if they are melting into the same colored ground. Inside the barber shop of the village, a perfect picture was taken. Here you can see Hannes Seebacher shaving his dear friend Mathar. Passengers stopped and enjoyed the unusual sight, adding much joy to this amusing incident.

Hannes Seebacher while shaving
Copyright esbjerg.com Fotograf: Hannes Seebacher

The following picture is another example of Hannes Seebacher’s gifted talent. The thick fog is covering the hill’s tips and the stone-built temple in Ranakpur adds a strong contrast. In these mystical surroundings, Hanne Seebacher undertook a wet shave on his friend Mathar, making the procedure an extra special experience.

Hannes Seebacher while shaving
Copyright esbjerg.com Fotograf: Hannes Seebacher

India is always worth a travel. You feel like diving into a completely different world, having once travelled to India, you will never experience life the same as before. As an artist and photographer, the country made a lasting impression on him, opening new perspectives and possibilities and thereby enabling him to the broaden his horizons.

His travel to India was only the beginning of the whole journey. Another destination on his list was Iceland. Hannes Seebacher was able to capture the momentum and beauty of the island in his pictures. ESBjERG’s mission is redefine and to add dimension to the art of shaving. Rather than being part of monotonous routine, shaving should bring joy and should keep us with our modern time.

Hannes Seebacher, who was born in 1969 in Kufstein, is a well-known Austrian multidisciplinary artist. He works with various materials and media, making every work of art special. A reoccurring material, which can be found in many of his works is the element water. In 2009, Hannes Seebacher was rewarded with the Neptun Water Prize for ‘WasserKREATIV’ and honored by the environment minister. In addition, in 2006 he won the water sculpture competition in Schwaz. Due to his international reputation, Hannes Seebacher is well-booked and popular in his birth country and also in foreign countries. Not only the materials for his sculptures change but also his place of residence. Since 2005, Hannes Seebacher moves around Arosa (CH), Innsbruck, Berlin, Cologne and Vienna. At the moment, he is in Jordan to find further inspiration, surely having many more great stories to tell after his stay.

drawing of Hannes Seebacher
Copyright esbjerg.com Fotograf: Hannes Seebacher