Fruit 2025

Summary

This ceramic artwork of fruit was made by Kenny Pittock for the 2025 City Gallery exhibition 'The Dirty Dozen'. Curated by award-winning food writer and author Richard Cornish, the exhibition delved into the sometimes-dark, often-uplifting stories behind street food, produce markets and the dining habits of the 19th-century elite. The twelve ceramic artworks produced by Pittock bring to life 12 quintessential Melbourne street foods. All look good enough to eat.

"At a time when Melbourne was one of the wealthiest cities on the planet, the streets of Melbourne in the latter 1800s were home to the poor, the old and the infirm. Often, their only source of income was the fruits and vegetables they could sell on the streets. Many were Chinese and most were poorly educated, and well-heeled Melburnians typically looked down on them. From the 1860s, street hawking was controlled by Melbourne Town Council and was influenced by local shopkeepers. The sale of apples and pears grown in Doncaster, bananas grown in the northern colonies and, later, dried fruit that came from Mildura was the only thing saving hundreds of hawkers from complete destitution." - Richard Cornish, 'The Dirty Dozen' catalogue essay