The idea of entrusting an artist with the surface of a public bathroom might seem like something radically contemporary, yet Westminster Notes proves that the right question is not “why here”, but “why not”. The public art programme by the City of Westminster involves eight sites across central London, all part of the borough’s extensive refurbishment of public conveniences. All works are by artist James Lambert, with ceramics produced by H&E Smith of Stoke-on-Trent.

Embankment is the first work in the series. Lambert takes Victoria Embankment and extracts its symbols, its history, its geometry. The lines running across the surface reference the nineteenth-century engineering of Bazalgette, the sphinx by George John Vulliamy reappears as a guardian figure, and the Thames is rendered in stylised anchors, palm trees and a steamer recalling the river’s role at the centre of global sea trade.

The second work is Parliament Square, one of Westminster’s busiest public spaces. Here Lambert brings together power and play: graphic hands evoking gestures of pointing, voting and protest — from tourists to suffragettes. The design references the iconic arches of Westminster Bridge and the celebratory spirit of the historic Brocks Fireworks, with a nod to the Festival of Britain and centuries of civic gathering in the square. The work scales the energy of the site like a circuit board, visually linking Parliament Street to Westminster Underground Station through the pedestrian underpass.

The third site is Piccadilly Circus. The figure above the fountain is not Eros, as commonly believed, but his brother Anteros, god of requited love — his arrow marks the central visual axis of the work. Motifs drawn from theatres, music halls and cinemas reference the area’s history as a stage for entertainment, from the Criterion’s subterranean hall to today’s glowing screens. Dot-matrix patterns and pixel forms nod to the illuminated billboards that have defined Piccadilly’s skyline for over a century, while gilded flourishes evoke its pleasure-palace interiors. An immersive environment, alive with colour and movement, true to the spectacular spirit that has always made Piccadilly Circus a place like no other.