ShAFF Sherpa Selfie Competition
2nd Apr 2014
Sheffield artist and photo journalist Alex Ekins is bringing Sherpas home from Everest for this weekend's Sheffield Adventure Film Festival in a unique street art installation highlighting the work of the Nepalese Sherpas and Porters. He's pasted five Sherpas outside Yorkshire Art Spaces' Persistence Works studios down the street from the Showroom Workstation on Paternoster Row.
Alex will also be bringing along one of the Sherpas to the Showroom Cinema for visitors to ShAFF to pose and take a "Sherpa Selfie" to be in with a chance of winning five Trekmates Firestarters from children's outdoor kit specialists Mountain Munchkins who will be exhibiting at ShAFF.
Alex said, ‘April marks the beginning of the Everest season and the ensuing media frenzy. The world’s watching Base Camp to see if there will be another fight, if there will be lots of bodies, all the cliches, and so the Sherpas are here to show another side to the Everest adventure, they are real people and this installation places them on the street with us’.
Alex travelled to Mount Everest Base Camp where he was hosted by Sheffield based climbing and mountain expedition specialists Jagged Globe creating a makeshift outdoor studio to document the work of Sherpas and Porters on the world’s highest mountain. Back in Sheffield Alex printed the portraits life-size, cut them out and has pasted them up on the streets of Sheffield. (Read more about the project in an interview with Alex on The Outdoor Times).
This is the second of Alex’s paste up installations in Sheffield. You may have seen his life-size ‘Sadhus', or Hindu holy men, braving the Sheffield winter. ShAFF Festival Director Matt Heason is pictured below with a Sadhu.
Sheffield Adventure Film Festival PR Lissa Cook said: "Last year we were lucky enough to be able to exhibit Alex's incredible photos from the filming of ‘Wide Boyz’. This year it's a privilege to be part of his latest project to highlight the work of the Everest Sherpas. We're inviting our audience to take a picture of themselves with our ShAFF Sherpa and post it on twitter or our facebook page."
You can also watch Reel Rock's 'High Tension' documentary at ShAFF as part of our Mountain Films 2 session on Saturday at 14.30 about the controversy following reports that Ueli Steck and Simone Moro (one of the strongest duos in alpinism) were attacked by a crowd of angry sherpas at Camp 2 while attempting a cutting edge new route on the highest and most crowded mountain in the world. BOOK TICKETS
HOW TO ENTER THE SHAFF SHERPA SELFIE SHOWROOM COMPETITION
Post a picture of yourself standing with a ShAFF Sherpa on twitter including @MtnMunchkins @AlexEkins #ShAFF2014 #SherpaSelfie or post on our Sheffield Adventure Film Festival facebook page.
We have 5 Trekmates Firestarters from Mountain Munchkins worth £12 each with two prizes for Best Grown-Ups picture; two for Best Kids picture and two for Best Family Shot. Winners will be picked next week and contacted by twitter or facebook.
T&C: ShAFF organisers can use photos submitted for future promotional use connected to the festival
ENDS
VISIT MOUNTAIN MUNCHKINS AT THE SHOWROOM WORKSTATION AT SHAFF
Notes to editors:
For more information on Sheffield Adventure Festival please visit www.shaff.co.uk, or contact Lissa Cook at lissa@heason.net
More information on Alex Ekins can be found on https://alexekins.co.uk or email him at alexekins@yahoo.com
Please credit all photographs to Adam Bailes at adambailes.co.uk (except Matt Heason with Sadhu & Mountain Munchkins)
