The probabilities of felt are countless when you think about what Lucy Sparrow has reworked during the last decade. From New York bodegas and British nook outlets to whole supermarkets and pharmacies, her world of sentimental sculpture has introduced the on a regular basis to life… one sew at a time.
Now, the acclaimed British artist returns to London with The Bourdon Road Chippy, an interactive fish and chip store made fully of felt, opening tomorrow on the Lyndsey Ingram Gallery in Mayfair.
Step inside, and you will be met with banquette seating, gleaming signage, and a counter stacked excessive with the whole lot you’d anticipate out of your native chippy, however recreated in cloth. Over 65,000 hand-stitched items fill the house, with 15 completely different chip shapes in 5 shades (as a result of why accept one?). You may “order” your Friday evening particular and take in the nostalgic attraction of an area that is as a lot about British consolation as it’s about craft.
As ever, Sparrow’s felt world disarms with its attraction, drawing us into acquainted territory whereas gently asking us to look once more. Her earlier works have taken us into the aisles of Cornershop (2014), the fluorescent cabinets of 8 Until Late (2017), and the tidy rows of The Bourdon Road Chemist (2021), the place Sparrow final teamed up with Lyndsey Ingram Gallery. Each reworked the on a regular basis into one thing actually extraordinary.
We have adopted Lucy’s journey right here at Artistic Growth for a few years – from her early DIY tasks to her full-scale installations throughout the globe. It has been fantastic to see how she’s advanced from a solo artist stitching the whole lot by hand into the artistic power behind what’s now, successfully, a full-scale felt manufacturing unit. Based mostly in a transformed ambulance station in Suffolk – lovingly known as the ‘Felt Cave’ – Lucy now leads a small workforce of professional felters who assist lower, sew, and assemble her 1000’s of creations. Every bit nonetheless carries her private contact, with Lucy hand-painting all logos, indicators and ending particulars. A lot of the work is bought instantly by way of her web site, the place her ever-growing fanbase eagerly snaps up her one-of-a-kind items.
“We’re excited to welcome Lucy Sparrow again to Bourdon Road for one more of her felt creations,” says gallerist Lyndsey Ingram. “She blurs the traces between efficiency and set up artwork, all in her distinctive felt language. Lucy is among the most necessary and significant artists of her technology.”
However The Bourdon Road Chippy carries new weight, too. In June, Sparrow revealed she has lived with anorexia since her teenagers. Now in restoration, she’s mirrored on how her relationship with meals has all the time formed her artwork. “The 2 are inextricably linked,” she says. “Over time, I got here to grasp that my apply had grow to be a method to handle tough feelings. Artwork is each my outlet and my motivation to remain nicely.”
What makes Lucy’s work shine is not simply the humour or the ridiculous degree of element – it is the guts behind it. There’s one thing quietly transferring about all of it. You do not anticipate to really feel emotional about felt chips, however someway, you do. These aren’t simply daft felt chips or novelty setups – they’re little love letters to the on a regular basis, stitched with care and a necessity for connection. It is artwork that reminds you of residence. Of consolation. Of the small, acquainted issues that get us by way of.
The Bourdon Road Chippy is open to the general public from tomorrow (1 August) till 14 September 2025, Wednesday to Sunday, plus Financial institution Vacation Monday (25 August). Lucy might be within the house each day, and the exhibition is free to go to. You will not discover any actual salt and vinegar, however you will depart with one thing way more lasting and significant.
