Steamed and fried dimmies 2024

Summary

This ceramic artwork of steamed and fried dim sim 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.

“In 1942, Melbourne Chinese chef and businessman William Chen Wing Young saw that a number of elderly Chinese men who had come to Australia to work during the late 1800s were destitute. ‘They were like the leftovers from the goldfield days. They didn’t make it back home to China and were too old for hard work’, his daughter TV chef Elizabeth Chong has said. William noticed how popular dim sum was becoming and thought that if he could mass produce the little dumplings, the old men could sell them from food trucks to earn a living. He changed the name to dim sim. His son ‘accidentally’ sold some to a Greek friend with a fish and chip shop; ever since, dim sims have become an Australian fast-food icon.” - Richard Cornish, 'The Dirty Dozen' exhibition catalogue