TWO vintage Action Men have been used to re-enact famous Himalayan climbs for a new exhibition about mountain exploration.

Artist and “armchair mountaineer” Stephen Livingstone, from Durham, used the vintage toys to depict 11 famous climbs, dating from 1924, in miniature, by turning bookshelves into mountain ranges.

Mr Livingstone said: “It’s something I’ve always had an interest in as an armchair mountaineer.

“This is factual, but it’s art as well. It’s about sitting in your living room and imagining it coming to life.”

He added: “We wanted this exhibition to bring mountain archives and mountain literature to a wide audience through art-making, but we also wanted to say: we can all climb the biggest mountains, if only through play and imagination.”

An exhibition of fold-out artist books are on display at Durham University’s Oriental Museum, along with the Action Men, mountaineering memorabilia and Japanese-style suminagashi prints, inspired by mountain geology, made by Kate Livingstone.

The artist books have been made using the Action Men figures to scale the shelves of libraries around the country, including the Royal Geographical Society and the Mountain Heritage Trust, as well as lesser-known ones like the Chorley Hopkinson Mountaineering Library at Allan Bank, Grasmere, and the personal collections of climbing enthusiast Jeff Ford.

Mr Livingstone worked with Durham University academic Dr Abbie Garrington, who is an expert in mountaineering literature.

Each of the walks has been meticulously researched through visits to archives.

Dr Garrington said: “Each climb was selected because of its association with an important work of mountaineering writing, from Edward Norton’s account of the fateful 1924 Everest expedition, through Maurice Herzog’s Annapurna of the early fifties, which is the biggest-selling mountain-related book of all time, to Peter Boardman’s prize-winning The Shining Mountain and Joe Tasker’s Savage Arena of 1982, both discussing their hugely impressive ascent of Changabang.

“We hope the exhibition might encourage visitors not only to visit the archives the Action Men have climbed, but to seek out copies of these fascinating books to learn more about these ambitious climbs.”

Scaling the Heights opens to the public on Friday and runs until Friday, December 21.