World Art Utopia

Hungry Giraffe mural by JanIsDeMan, Utrecht, Netherlands

A tall apartment block of grey-brown brick on a sunny street corner. In a tall, deep recess at the corner of the building, the whole back wall is painted with a giraffe standing in a green meadow with dark trees behind it and blue sky above. Its long neck reaches up to the top of the recess, where it stretches its head round a brick pillar to nibble climbing plants that trail down the facade beside the windows on the right. Some of the leaves are painted onto the brick. Below, cyclists ride past a street lamp, traffic lights and a blue parking sign, and a young tree stands at the right edge.
Artwork FileUtrecht · Netherlands
SeenFeb 2026

Hungry
Giraffe

JanIsDeMan (Jan Heinsbroek) · “Hungry Giraffe”, 2023 · Corner of Briljantlaan and Diamantweg, Hoograven, Utrecht

Photo as published on Street Art Utopia; the photographer is not named. A dated February 2026 view of the wall is on Wikimedia Commons

  • #JanIsDeMan
  • #JanHeinsbroek
  • #HungryGiraffe
  • #Woonin
  • #DeSteenhouwer
  • #Hoograven
  • #Briljantlaan
  • #Utrecht

A giraffe the height of seven storeys stretches its neck round a corner of an apartment block in Utrecht’s Hoograven district, reaching for climbing plants on the next wall. JanIsDeMan painted it in 2023 with a real vertical garden beside it, so the plants would one day grow up to its mouth. Six months after the unveiling, a gardener working for the housing corporation pulled out the ivy.

4 things to know

  1. A painting that is meant to growThe artist’s site says a vertical garden was placed at right angles to the painted wall, and that “In a few years, this garden will have grown enough for the plants to reach the giraffe’s mouth”. It notes that giraffes eat up to 65 kilograms of leaves, buds and fruit a day. Street Art Cities says he called it his first artwork that will improve over time. JanIsDeMan · Street Art Cities
  2. Some of the leaves are paintThe real plants were still small, so JanIsDeMan added painted ones: “But I was a bit impatient so I drew a few of the plants already,” as quoted by the Italian blogger Barbara Picci in September 2023. Her close-up shows painted leaves on the brick beside a window. Barbara Picci
  3. The ivy was dug out in March 2024A gardener working for the housing corporation Woonin removed the ivy on 5 March 2024 and planted a clematis. Woonin said the ivy did not cling to the steel wires. The artist’s reaction to RTV Utrecht: “Is dit niet een foutje?” (Isn’t this a mistake?). A resident told the station they had been taken by surprise. RTV Utrecht · NOS
  4. The residents’ giraffeThe artist thanks the residents of the De Steenhouwer building and the neighbourhood for making it possible. Street Art Cities calls it a collaboration between residents, Woonin and the municipality of Utrecht, and NOS says the residents chose the ivy with care. JanIsDeMan · Street Art Cities · NOS

Check-in guide

📍
On the corner of Briljantlaan and Diamantweg in Utrecht-Zuid; Street Art Cities gives the address as Briljantlaan 307, 3523 CD Utrecht (Street Art Cities). The artist names the building De Steenhouwer (JanIsDeMan).
🧭
The giraffe is painted inside a tall recess at the corner of the block, so it is best seen from the crossing in front of it; a February 2026 photo taken from the crossing about 50 m to the south-east shows its lower half (Commons). The artist told Barbara Picci it is “next to Smaragdplein”, the square just to the east. The Maps button points to the OpenStreetMap address point for Briljantlaan 307 (OpenStreetMap).
👀
The newest dated photo is from 8 February 2026. Street Art Cities lists the mural as active, with a “last seen” mark of 22 September 2026. Check before you travel.
🌿
Look to the right of the giraffe’s head: the plants on the facade are partly real and partly painted. Since March 2024 the living climber has been a clematis, not ivy (NOS).
Open in MapsArtist’s page

Sightings

  1. 202316 Sep

    Blog photos, newly painted

  2. 20246 Mar

    Ivy removed the day before

  3. 20247 Mar

    NOS: clematis instead

  4. 202528 Jun

    Street Art Cities photo

  5. 20268 Feb

    Commons photo from the crossing

  6. 202612 Aug

    Named in Zwolle giraffe entry

  7. 202622 Sep

    Marked “last seen”

  8. 20261 Oct

    In SAU’s plants post

Every stamp links to the dated source. Green stamps are dated photos of the wall; the 2025 stamp is the date the photo was added to Street Art Cities, not the date it was taken. Amber stamps are news and records about the work, including Street Art Cities’ “last seen” mark, which is a database entry rather than a photo.

On the record

RTV Utrecht6 March 2024

Hovenier schoffelt klimop uit kunstwerk JanIsDeMan: ‘Is dit niet een foutje?’

“Ik vind het ontzettend zonde. De klimop op de Steenhouwer vormde juist een samenspel van elementen.”

JanIsDeMan: “I think it’s a terrible shame. The ivy on the Steenhouwer was precisely what formed an interplay of elements.” The regional broadcaster says the gardener also planted other plants at the foot of the work, “Zonder overleg” (without consultation).

Read

NOS, with RTV Utrecht7 March 2024

Hovenier schoffelt klimop uit Utrechts kunstwerk: ‘We zijn echt overvallen’

“Het idee is als volgt: een giraffe ter hoogte van zeven verdiepingen eet van klimop op diezelfde hoogte. Maar die klimop moet daar nog wel naartoe groeien.”

“The idea is this: a giraffe seven storeys high eats ivy at the same height. But the ivy still has to grow up there.” The national broadcaster adds that the painting was unveiled in September 2023 and quotes Woonin: “Uiteindelijk groeit de plant weer omhoog en wordt de gevel er mooier van” (in the end the plant will grow up again and the facade will look better for it).

Read

Barbara Picci (blog)16 September 2023

Streetart – JanIsDeMan @ Utrecht, Netherlands

“This concept where the giraf is eating the plants, is going to be better within the years… The wall next to the giraf becomes a vertical green garden.”

The artist’s words as quoted by the Italian blogger, who lists the work as made for Woonin and Gemeente Utrecht and credits the photos to JanIsDeMan.

Read

JanIsDeMan (artist’s site)Undated project page

Hungry Giraffe

“Giraffes are hungry animals: they eat upto 65 kilograms of leaves, buds, and fruits per day.”

The artist’s own entry, with the location “Briljantlaan, Utrecht (NL)” and the year 2023. It ends: “Made possible with the support of the residents of the 'DeSteenhouwer' building and the surrounding community.”

Read

The facts

Artist
JanIsDeMan, the working name of Utrecht muralist Jan Heinsbroek (NOS, RTV Utrecht). NOS calls the actor and presenter Edo Brunner his “compagnon” (business partner) Checked
Title
“Hungry Giraffe” on the artist’s site, whose image files use the Dutch “Hongerige Giraffe” (JanIsDeMan). Street Art Cities lists it as “Giraffe” Checked
Date
2023, per the artist. NOS, writing in March 2024, says it was unveiled in September; Barbara Picci posted it on 16 September 2023 (NOS, Barbara Picci). The exact unveiling day is not reported Checked
Place
Briljantlaan 307 on the corner of Diamantweg, Hoograven, Utrecht (Street Art Cities, NOS, RTV Utrecht); the building is De Steenhouwer (JanIsDeMan, RTV Utrecht); map point from OpenStreetMap Checked
Partners
Barbara Picci lists it as made for Woonin and Gemeente Utrecht; Street Art Cities calls it a collaboration of residents, Woonin and the municipality; the artist thanks the residents of De Steenhouwer and the neighbourhood. No source names who paid Reported
Size
About seven storeys tall (NOS, Street Art Cities). No measurements are published Reported
The plants
A vertical garden at right angles to the painted wall (artist). NOS says the residents chose the ivy; a Street Art Cities entry from August 2026 says the municipality planted the climbers. On 5 March 2024 a gardener for Woonin replaced the ivy (hedera) with a clematis; RTV Utrecht first calls it “Clementia”, then clematis (RTV Utrecht, NOS, Street Art Cities) Reported
Photo
Photo as published on Street Art Utopia in a file uploaded in September 2023. Barbara Picci credits her similar photos to JanIsDeMan, but our shot is a different frame; its photographer and date are not known Unconfirmed
Status
On view: a Commons photo of 8 February 2026 shows the lower half of the giraffe (Commons), and Street Art Cities lists it as active, last marked as seen on 22 September 2026 (Street Art Cities). How far the living plants have grown is not reported Checked

Related

All sources (9)

This mural

On Street Art Utopia

The place

Artwork File · Last checked 5 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files