Meet Ginger, our "Mona Lisa"

Meet Ginger
The Mona Lisa of Pigs

Approaching LINNcinnati from the north, you can't help but encounter Ginger. She’s six stories tall, peering around the corner down at 6th & Linn Street (not to mention US-50) with a sly grin that has earned her the nickname “the Mona Lisa of Pigs.”

Originally a photo portrait by photographer Kevin Horan, Ginger transformed a brick wall into a landmark. His photo series "Chattel" sought to utilize the style of classical portraiture with the charm of sheep, goat and of course, swine. Ginger was one of these subjects. Ginger's grin — playful, mysterious, and inviting — sparks curiosity and reflects Cincinnati’s history as "Porkopolis" in the 19th Century. She embodies reinvention, humor, and cleverness.

Ginger sunny just living photo collage facebook cover (photo collage)

The Photographer - Kevin Horan

Kevin Horan is an artist based in Langley, Washington, USA. He is working on projects which look at animals as people, people as animals, and the planet as a very small place. His pictures are reality-based, and he enjoys finding the amazing revealed in the ordinary. His work from Chattel was selected for the Photolucida Critical Mass Top 50 in 2014. His work has been acquired by The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, The Santa Barbara Museum of Art, The Museum of Contemporary Photography Chicago and numerous private collections.

A recovering photojournalist, Horan has published his work in The New York Times Magazine, Smithsonian, LIFE, U.S. News & World Report, National Geographic, and numerous other magazines and books. Horan based himself in Chicago 1976-2006 and Whidbey Island since 2006, with assignments ranging from presidential campaigns to small-town life in Russia to development issues in the Amazon to following a dollar bill for a week for LIFE Magazine. He was a presenter at Ampersand Live at Town Hall Seattle in November, 2016; Artist in Residence, Glacier National Park, September, 2004; staff photographer for Chicago In The Year 2000; staff photographer for the Chicago Daily News and the Chicago Sun-Times, 1977-1981. He received a degree in journalism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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A Mural - Why & How

The idea to utilize the building as a "canvas" for public art came very early in the development. The team saw an opportunity to engage the with the community and become a part of the vibrant public art scene. Later on, a detailed history of the building also revealed that the wall had previously hosted a mural in the second half of the 20th century (though Pluto the dog is hardly Ginger the pig) Learn more about the building history below.

In 2023 local creative house Agar was engaged to imagine the branding at LINNcinnati, and a big a** mural was part of this discussion. After Ginger stole some hearts, LINNcinnati made the decision to stay true to Kevin's original work, keeping the muted colors and black background. Once Chroma Projects was identified as the team to execute the artistic work, the team turned to one (unexpectedly sticky) question: her ears.

Learn More History Here

Ginger: A Collage of Progress

From a pinterest page hit, to an out of the blue phone call, to planes, cranes and (two) lifts, a look at our Ginger

Ginger No. 2

Lc mural wall white paint job w.workers photo

Wall Prep & Tuckpointing

One Big Wall

Background Study

The 1st Smirk

Day 1

Day 3

Arrand23mural linncinnati pig mural low res 1

Coming Into Focus

Background Work

Prepping The Ears

Lifting the Ears

Crown(s) for a Queen

K. Horan "Signs" Ginger

K. Horan Photographs Ginger After Signing

The Unofficial Porcine Mascot

With the placement of her ears, and signature from photographer Kevin Horan, Ginger gets her final touches...for now

Tenants say she feels like part of the family: “Clients love coming here. They always comment on the mural — it’s a great icebreaker.”

Ginger has been celebrated in the Cincinnati Business Courier, NPR, and local TV stations. The Courier called her “the unofficial porcine mascot of Cincinnati” becoming a cultural landmark for Queensgate, a beacon for tenants, and a reminder that creativity belongs to the bold.

Visit us at 516 Linn Street

Meet Ginger in person. She’s even more impressive up close.

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