For one entire month in the summer of 2014, felt artist Lucy Sparrow took over a rundown corner shop in Bethnal Green, East London, and filled it with more than 4000 hand-stitched felt replicas of everyday items that you’d ordinarily find in a local shop. Even the ice lollies in the freezer were felt lollies. The show was a huge success and visitors from all over the world descended upon Lucy’s corner shop.

Lucy’s other solo shows have included ‘The Warmongery’, 2015, Boxpark, London and ‘Madame Roxy’s Erotic Emporium’, 2015, Soho, London and her work has been shown alongside great street artists at the ‘Urban Take-Over’, the V&A’s touring Street Art exhibition and in the ‘Urban Art Show’ at the Louise T Blouin Foundation in London. Pieces of Lucy’s art are held in both private and corporate collections throughout the EU and the United States.

From today Lucy begins her latest exhibition at the Lawrence Alkin Gallery in Central London.

If you have ever wondered which items are the most pilfered from shops in Britain, go along to Lucy’s exhibition to find out. For Lucy is showcasing the most shoplifted items in the UK – in felt, of course. It’s a veritable eye-opener. Items include Calgon, Marmite, Pampers, multi-packs of Stella and two litre bottles of teeth-rotting White Lightning cider.

According to Lucy’s biography, “The world of Feltism doesn’t assault one’s senses but instead it gently caresses them before making its point felt. Where others might see the harsh and ugly side of an object, Lucy will take the same thing and disarms its negative aspects with her mastery of felting technique and the juxtaposition of other quirky creations.”

Shoplifting by Lucy Sparrow is running from the 4th to the 26th November 2016. For directions and details about how to attend the exhibition click here