Yayoi Kusama Unveils New Public Sculpture in London

Once again, Yayoi Kusama has made her mark on London’s urban landscape. Outside Liverpool Street station, the aptly nicknamed “Princess of Polka Dots” installed Infinite Accumulation, a monumental new twist on her signature motif. The sculpture is the latest in a series of public art commissions celebrating the Tube’s Elizabeth Line.

Polka dots have appeared in Yayoi Kusama‘s work since the 1960s, swarming the surfaces of countless paintings, sculptures, and installations by the Japanese artist. In Kusama’s latest artwork, her signature motif is larger and livelier than ever. Infinite Accumulation is a sprawling site-specific sculpture installed outside London’s busiest Tube station at Liverpool Street. At over 325 feet long, 40 feet wide, and 33 feet high, it is Kusama’s largest permanent public artwork to date.

The sculpture is comprised of reflective sliver spheres connected by organically arching lines, which Kusama intuitively composed by hand-twisting wires on a small-scale model in her studio. Viewers and their surroundings are mirrored across the sculpture surface, literally reflecting the individual and collective experiences constantly unfolding across London’s urban landscape. In a statement, the artist explained her intentions behind the behemoth work: “London is a massive metropolis with people of all cultures moving constantly. The spheres symbolize unique personalities while the supporting curvilinear lines allow us to imagine an underpinning social structure.”

“Commuters and Visitors Are in for a Real Treat”

The Crossrail Art Programme commissioned Yayoi Kusama to create Infinite Accumulation. The sculpture is one of a series of public artworks celebrating the Tube’s new Elizabeth Line, which opened in 2022. Other commissions include Chantal Joffe’s A Sunday Afternoon in Whitechapel at Whitechapel station and Douglas Gordon’s undergroundoverheard at Tottenham Court Road. Kusama’s sculpture was permanently installed by the eastern entrance to the Elizabeth Line at Liverpool Street station in central London. It is the final artwork to be commissioned by the Crossrail Art Programme in connection with the Elizabeth Line.

Justine Simons OBE, London’s deputy mayor for culture and the creative industries, described Kusama’s contribution to the project as such: “Commuters and visitors are in for a real treat when they arrive at Liverpool Street. The arts are a vital part of London’s success, helping transform our spaces and connect our communities as we build a better London for all.”

Earlier this year, Yayoi Kusama contributed another public sculpture to the British capital. Serpentine Galleries installed Pumpkin (2024) near the Round Pond in Kensington Gardens in July. The sculpture will remain there until November 3. Reaching nearly 20 feet high, it is the tallest of Kusama’s signature pumpkin sculptures to date. Like Infinite Accumulation, Pumpkin was intentionally positioned so visitors could interact with it and consider its relationship to the surrounding landscape.