Traffic Light Tree
seventy-five traffic lights gone rogue
A defiant public sculpture of 75 working traffic lights near Canary Wharf, blinking endlessly out of sync.
Free to visit · Canary Wharf · Canary Wharf · E14 9SH
Opening: Always lit
Near Canary Wharf stands one of London's most playful public artworks, the Traffic Light Tree, a steel sculpture sprouting seventy-five fully working traffic lights from its branches, all blinking and changing in their own random rhythm. The French artist Pierre Vivant made it in 1998, the lights deliberately ignoring the traffic to comment on the restless energy of the city.
Once marooned on a busy roundabout, it now stands near Billingsgate where you can get closer. It is free to admire, mesmerising after dark, and a wonderfully daft sight that makes drivers and walkers alike do a double take.
Getting there: On the Trafalgar Way roundabout near Billingsgate, a short walk from Canary Wharf.
Best time to go: After dark, when the blinking lights are at their most hypnotic.
Insider tip: Come after dark to see the full hypnotic effect of all seventy-five signals blinking out of sync. It moved from its old roundabout to a spot near Billingsgate Market, so head that way to find it.
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide