From fried cod to red saveloy sausage to the carb-lover’s chip butty—a simple sandwich made with chunky fries on a buttered roll—the menu at Bourdon Street Chippy resembles what you’d expect to see at a traditional British fish and chips shop. The only real difference, despite the delectable-looking cones of deep-fried treats and perfectly formed pies, is that everything from the jarred, picked eggs to the battered haddock to the wall decor is made from felt.
The brainchild of artist Lucy Sparrow (previously), Bourdon Street Chippy is the latest in a series of elaborate, large-scale, interactive installations highlighting quotidian places like supermarkets, pharmacies, and bodegas that we visit all the time but rarely think of much in the way of aesthetics. Crafted in soft fiber, many of the artist’s renditions of merchandise and food sport cute, smiling expressions while faithfully replicating iconic dishes and products.
Bourdon Street Chippy is presented by Lyndsey Ingram Gallery, which is located on Bourdon Street in London. While the scampi and chips that Sparrow whips up aren’t edible, they are available for purchase. Visitors are welcome to peruse the menu and order their takeaway directly from the artist. “As much theatre as art, the familiarity of…these spaces disarms the viewer, taking them to a playful, often nostalgic place,” the gallery says.
The exhibition includes handmade banquette seating and a wall-to-wall gallery of sewn portraits of the chippy’s famous patrons. Read fabric menus, have an even tougher time than usual getting ketchup to come out of the Heinz bottles, and be reminded not to feed the seagulls. All in all, the installation includes more than 65,000 individual felt pieces, including 15 chip shapes in different colors.
The exhibition continues through September 14. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
