Artist to serve up fish and chips at takeaway shop made entirely from felt

A fish and chip shop featuring 65,000 items made entirely from felt is to open in central London.

Artist Lucy Sparrow has created the Bourdon Street Chippy at the Lyndsey Ingram gallery in Mayfair, with a traditional chip shop counter serving up everything customers would expect to find at their local takeaway.

There are fish and chips, battered sausages, pies, packets of condiments including ketchup and vinegar, containers of mushy peas and jars of Cornish sea salt.

Visitors can sit on hand-made banquette seating and view walls filled with classic chip shop menus, shop signs and a gallery of hand-sewn portraits, all made from felt.

They will be able to purchase their felt fish and chip shop favourites from the traditional counter created from fabric – including 15 different chip shapes in five different colours.

General view of The Bourdon Street Chippy exhibition (Jack Hall Media Assignments/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Jack Hall Media Assignments

There are felt takeaway boxes, huge shiny silver fish, bottles of Sarson’s Malt Vinegar, Hellmann’s Mayonnaise and Heinz Tomato Ketchup.

Sparrow, originally from Bath, Somerset, previously transformed the gallery into the Bourdon Street Chemist in April 2021.

She told the PA news agency: “My shows are always set in those familiar community spaces that we all know and love, and the traditional chippy is such a strong example of this.

“Pretty much everyone has a favourite chippy tea – mine is large cod and chips, with loads of salt and vinegar, plus a Diet Coke.

“My aim for each installation is to completely transport the audience into a parallel felt universe.

“I’ve spent the last year hand-creating every element to make the Bourdon Street Chippy exactly that – a fully realised chip shop with every detail you’d expect, only in felt.”

For more than a decade, Sparrow has created life-sized felt versions of everyday spaces across the world.

The exhibition is at the Lyndsey Ingram Gallery in London (Jack Hall Media Assignments/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Jack Hall Media Assignments

These include a corner shop in east London in 2014, a New York bodega in May 2017, and a supermarket in Florida in 2022.

Each one of her installations is immersive, featuring thousands of artworks handcrafted from felt and available to buy directly from Sparrow and her team.

In June this year, Sparrow revealed she had struggled with anorexia since being a teenager and is now in recovery.

She added: “My relationship with food has always influenced my art – the two are inextricably linked.

“Over time, I came to understand that my practice had become a way to manage difficult emotions. Art is both my outlet and my motivation to stay well.”

The Bourdon Street Chippy exhibition, an immersive, hand-stitched fish and chip shop created by artist Lucy Sparrow in felt (Jack Hall Media Assignments/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Jack Hall Media Assignments

The gallery is usually a classic space, with white walls, wooden floors and pictures hanging on the walls.

Gallery founder Lyndsey Ingram said: “We are excited to welcome Lucy Sparrow back to Bourdon Street for another of her felt creations – blurring the lines between performance and installation art, all in her distinctive felt language.

“Lucy is one of the most important and meaningful artists of her generation. I am pleased and proud that my gallery will again be a platform for her brilliant work.”

The Bourdon Street Chippy is free to visit from Wednesday to Sunday between August 1 and September 14, as well as August 25.