‘When I went shopping, I bought…’ Bishop’s Stortford’s shopping lists exposed

Art exhibition by Lucy Gray

A new display in South Mill’s Art Space shows over 200 discarded shopping lists compiled since 2016 by collector Lucy Ireland Gray, who lives and works in Bishop’s Stortford.

The display provides us with an intimate look at one of life’s most ordinary of activities, after all, who hasn’t written a list? But what makes them so special is not so much the content, but how they are written and the notes sent to the shopper.

 They show a snapshot of everyday domesticity in 21st-century England and share an insight into a person’s life. Found in trollies, baskets, on shelves or on the ground at supermarkets mainly in and around Bishop’s Stortford, maybe you can spot one of yours?