A Giant Polka-Dotted Pumpkin Takes Root in London’s Kensington Gardens

Visitors to London’s Kensington Gardens this summer may find themselves face to face with a giant pumpkin.

No, it’s not part of a farmer’s market or a county fair, nor is it an early Halloween stunt. The humongous gourd is a sculpture created by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and sent to London “with love,” as she says in a statement.

Titled simply Pumpkin, the bronze sculpture stands at 19.5 feet tall and has a diameter of 18 feet. It’s painted yellow and covered with black polka dots in Kusama’s signature style.

A similar pumpkin has been on display at the Benesse Art Site Naoshima on an island in Japan’s inland sea since 1994. The newest iteration—Kusama’s tallest pumpkin sculpture to date—was installed this month near Round Pond in Kensington Gardens, one of London’s eight royal parks. It’s being managed by Serpentine Galleries, which has two free galleries within the park.

“A lot of people will see this pumpkin on their morning walk or while they jog,” says Hans Ulrich Obrist, Serpentine’s artistic director, to Mustakim Hasnath of the Associated Press. “We hope that it enchants people. We hope that a lot of encounters can happen here. We also hope that … it’s a surprise.”

The 95-year-old artist frequently uses pumpkins, or kabocha, in her work. When she was growing up, her family planted pumpkins around their home. As an artist, Kusama also uses the starchy vegetable as a stand-in for self-portraits.

“Since my childhood, pumpkins have been a great comfort to me,” she says in the statement. “They are such tender things to touch, so appealing in color and form. They are humble and amusing at the same time and speak to me of the joy of living.”

Pumpkin represents a homecoming for Kusama, whose first retrospective exhibition was held in Britain in 2000.

Born in Japan in 1929, Kusama showed an interest in art from a young age—much to her parents’ displeasure.

“Her mother, in particular, discouraged her young daughter’s dreams of becoming a professional artist, trying to steer her instead towards the conventional path of a traditional Japanese housewife,” according to Tate. “But Kusama’s persistence was strong. When her mother tore her drawings away from her, Kusama made more. When she could not afford to buy art supplies, she used materials she found around the home.”

Kusama worked in a parachute factory with other school-aged children during World War II, but she still carved out time for art. After the war, she began showing her work in group exhibitions, then moved to Kyoto to study painting.

In 1957, she relocated to the United States, where she exhibited her work and organized anti-war demonstrations. She also began hosting fashion shows and designing clothes. Kusama returned to Japan in 1973 but continued to land solo shows around the world. She has long struggled with mental illness; since 1977, she has chosen to live in a psychiatric treatment facility in Tokyo.

Throughout her long career, Kusama has worked in a variety of mediums, ranging from painting and sculpture to drawing and poetry. Some of her best-known works are “infinity mirror rooms,” immersive museum spaces that feature mirrors placed to give the impression of never-ending reflections.

Pumpkin will be on view in London’s Kensington Gardens through November 3.

Sarah Kuta | READ MORE

Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.