In Pictures: Caught by the fuzz: Felt artist unveils billion-dollar crime scene

PA Reporters

British artist Lucy Sparrow has unveiled The Billion Dollar Robbery, her latest felt installation, at the Saatchi Gallery in London.

The fully felted crime scene is part of a diverse offering at the 2021 edition of StART Art Fair.

Viewers will be met with scenes of chaos as they stumble upon a midnight bank heist in progress.

The Billion Dollar Robbery by Lucy Sparrow – Saatchi Gallery
A Metropolitan Police squad car with blue lights flashing has arrived on the scene to intercept the perpetrators of a billion-dollar robbery (Yui Mok/PA)

The bank vault lasers have been activated, and the alarms are screaming into the night.

The Billion Dollar Robbery by Lucy Sparrow – Saatchi Gallery
The criminal gang have fled the scene, leaving behind their getaway van filled with their illicit haul (Yui Mok/PA)
The Billion Dollar Robbery by Lucy Sparrow – Saatchi Gallery
Lit by the headlights of the police car, we see the contents of the bank vault, including millions of dollars in cash, passports and jewellery (Yui Mok/PA)
The Billion Dollar Robbery by Lucy Sparrow – Saatchi Gallery
There are also some of the world’s most famous artworks by Van Gogh, Picasso, Da Vinci and Munch (Yui Mok/PA)

The twist in this tale is that every element of the felony is felted.

From the Vauxhall Astra cop car and the Daihatsu van to the bundles of cash and Cartier jewellery – every part of the audacious artwork is hand-sewn and hand-painted by Sparrow.

The Billion Dollar Robbery by Lucy Sparrow – Saatchi Gallery
(Yui Mok/PA)
The Billion Dollar Robbery by Lucy Sparrow – Saatchi Gallery
(Yui Mok/PA)
The Billion Dollar Robbery by Lucy Sparrow – Saatchi Gallery
(Yui Mok/PA)
The Billion Dollar Robbery by Lucy Sparrow – Saatchi Gallery
(Yui Mok/PA)
The Billion Dollar Robbery by Lucy Sparrow – Saatchi Gallery
(Yui Mok/PA)

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