A giant polka-dot pumpkin by Japanese superstar artist Yayoi Kusama has descended upon London’s Serpentine Galleries. The 6-metre-tall public sculpture is the newest addition to Kusama’s ever growing roster of internationally popular art installations.

Titled Pumpkin, the piece was made from bronze and painted in the artist’s trademark yellow and black spots. It was ceremoniously unveiled next to the Round Pond in Kensington Gardens on Tuesday 9th July.  

“I am sending to London with love my giant pumpkin,” said the 95-year-old artist. “Since my childhood, pumpkins have been a great comfort to me, they are such tender things to touch, so appealing in colour and form. They are humble and amusing at the same time and speak to me of the joy of living.”

Born in 1929 into a family of Nagano merchants, Kusama eventually left Japan in her 20s for New York where she became intimately involved in the pop-art movement. Kusama has experienced mental health issues throughout her life, including vivid hallucinations of “flashes of light, auras, or dense fields of dots“, which she channelled into her artwork. Since 1946, pumpkins have also featured heavily in her practice, and the new artwork is her tallest one to date.

Kusama is now one of the world’s leading living female artists, beloved on social media after eight decades of artistic success. Due to overwhelming public demand, her iconic Infinity Mirror Rooms show ran for a staggering three years at Tate Modern in London. Critics described the blockbuster show as “utterly enchanting” and “an emotional plunge”.

The Serpentine hosted Kusama’s first ever retrospective in the UK in 2000. It explored her obsession and repulsions including with polka dots, nets and food. Hans Ulrich Obrist, the Serpentine’s artistic director, said it is an “honour” to present the artist’s newest vibrant sculpture. “Her signature pumpkins have become a landmark motif for the artist, and this project is a reunion for Kusama and Serpentine.”

Visitors are sure to have a gourd time at the Serpentine with Kusama’s newest pumpkin creation, which runs until 3rd November 2024.