Artist Lucy Sparrow opens unique felt fish and chips shop in London
- Artist Lucy Sparrow opens an immersive fish and chip shop made entirely from felt in London on August 1, 2025.
- The Bourdon Street Chippy features 65,000 felt items, including beloved takeaway favorites presented in a nostalgic setting.
- Visitors can explore the exhibition free of charge until September 14, 2025.
In central London, artist Lucy Sparrow launched a one-of-a-kind exhibition called the Bourdon Street Chippy at the Lyndsey Ingram gallery on August 1, 2025. This immersive installation features 65,000 meticulously crafted items made entirely from felt, replicating a traditional fish and chip shop environment. Visitors can expect to find felt versions of popular chip shop items like fish and chips, pies, and condiments, all presented at a counter designed from fabric. The installation seeks to evoke nostalgia and familiarity associated with local takeaway experiences. The Bourdon Street Chippy exhibition combines art and community, aiming to transport visitors into a whimsical felty universe. Hand-made banquettes provide seating for guests to enjoy the vibrant display, with walls adorned with classic chip shop menus and hand-sewn portraits, also crafted from felt. This exhibition follows Lucy Sparrow's successful past projects, including a corner shop in east London in 2014 and a New York bodega in 2017; she previously transformed the same gallery into the Bourdon Street Chemist in 2021. Nor only does Sparrow’s work draw on personal experiences related to food, but it also highlights her struggles with anorexia, which she has been managing since her teenage years. She describes her art as a method to cope with difficult emotions and an outlet for recovery. The connection between her artistic practice and her relationship with food serves as a central theme in her installations. By recreating familiar community spaces, Sparrow invites the audience to examine their emotional ties to these settings. The stunningly detailed felt items offer commentary on consumer culture while providing an engaging experience for those who visit. The Bourdon Street Chippy is open freely from August 1 to September 14, 2025. During this time, the gallery hopes to captivate visitors with this innovative blend of performance and installation art, celebrating the significant, but often overlooked, essence of the fish and chip shop as a staple of British culture.