The chippy where the food is made from felt

Artist and recovering anorexic Lucy Sparrow has opened a chippy where everything is made from felt.

The interactive creation includes hand-stitched fish and chips in sewn-together boxes, tubs of salt, bottles of vinegar and mayonnaise, ketchup sachets, signs and menus.

In total there are 65,000 individually hand-crafted pieces including 15 different chip shapes in five different colours.

The Bourdon Street Chippy is intended as a nostalgic, tactile reimagining of one of Britain's most beloved institutions.

'Motivation to stay well'

It's at the Lyndsey Ingram Gallery, in Mayfair, central London, for six weeks, and follows Sparrow's 2021 exhibition, The Bourdon Street Chemist.

The artist revealed in June she had struggled with anorexia since her teens and said she had reflected on how this has shaped her work.

"My relationship with food has always influenced my art, the two are inextricably linked," she said.

"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."

She has previously made life-sized versions of corner shops, supermarkets, New York bodegas and pharmacies.

Ingram said Sparrow blurred the lines between performance and installation art.

"Lucy is one of the most important and meaningful artists of her generation," she added.

The free exhibition opens on 1 August and will then run from Wednesday to Sunday each week until 14 September, as well as on Bank Holiday Monday, 25 August.