Mikkel Hørlyck

Jørgen, a Mystery is published in Information

Jørgen Pedersen (61) refers to his own life as a "heavenly hell". On heroin, you're in heaven, without it in hell. The constant hunt for cocaine and heroin controls Jørgen’s everyday life. Nevertheless, he survives. “I’ve always been good at dosing the drugs, eating regularly, having a social life and maintaining a daily routine.”

Jørgen turns up the music of Laid Back. When Jørgen was young, his friends from school thought he would become an actor, because he is very good at imitating other people’s voices and facial expressions.

Jørgen is on his way home from the heroin clinic in Aarhus. He is walking extraordinarily bent forward this day. His back hurts. But that does not stop Jørgen from singing and whistling.

"My mother told me that the power went off at the hospital the very second she gave birth to me. To me, this is very symbolic," says Jørgen to Birgitte at her apartment.

May 2016. On Jørgen’s way to his morning fix, he crossed a red-light right in front of a police car. He ended up in handcuffs. “They grabbed him hard,” says a social worker. First, Jørgen went to detention, later he went to the hospital because his shoulder was aching. The day after, Jørgen is still in pain.

While an 80s rock soundtrack hits the speakers, Jørgen slowly disappears into a universe of his own. His life is characterised by heavy ups and downs; when he is going through a rough patch, his apartment becomes more and more untidy and cluttered.

According to Jørgen, he was once lifeless for around 6-9 minutes due to carbon monoxide poisoning from a fire in his former apartment. The year was 1987. Someone in the building detected the smoke from Jørgen’s apartment and that saved him. The doctor said that if they had found him a few minutes later, he would not have survived.

With the blue 'bus 100', Jørgen is on his way to visit his mother. In his young twenties, Jørgen served the army as a radaroperator in the Army Operational Command.

The street where Jørgen lives. The mist has put a veil over the city, and Jørgen is not home. “He’s in the hospital,” says Jørgen’s guardian from the municipality. Every morning he checks on Jørgen.

Jørgen and his mother, Inger, hug in the entrance of Inger's home. She is the most important person to him.

April 2016. Jørgen is preparing a fix in his apartment. He loves art. “When I daydream, it’s always about wealth. I’m fascinated by money. When my brother Ole and I really had it going, we did not want for anything. We wore brands like Ralph Lauren and Lacoste, ate out, took a cab whenever we needed to go anywhere”.

Jørgen has just visited his oldest friend, Søren. He’s on his way to the kiosk to check whether he has won in a lottery game. “If I win and get all 20 numbers right, I’ll go crazy,” says Jørgen.

Birgitte (64) and Jørgen have been apart for six years but in the spring of 2018, they found each other again in an affectionate friendship. Prior to the break, they were together for 25 years. Birgitte too is a drug addict and when she and Jørgen used to be together, she earned a living as a sex worker, while Jørgen was dealing drugs.

Handprints on the wall by the entrance to the former heroin clinic, one of the five heroin clinics in Denmark. Every day, Jørgen visits the clinic where he receives two daily heroin fixes as well as aid in health and practical matters, just like 19 other heroin addicts in the city. 

The staff at the heroin clinic hopes to be able to give the visitors the energy and motivation to become clean. 

But for Jørgen, the game is over. "I've tried rehab several times but keep falling into temptation.” In addition to Jørgen's daily visits to the clinic, he injects five to ten times a day.

Examination at Skejby Hospital. The doctors tell Jørgen that he suffers from a liver inflammation – news that every drug addict dread. The doctors also found something much worse; spinal staphylococcus, an inflamed cardiac valve and gallstone. Jørgen stayed at the hospital for seven weeks.

Jørgen is in a hurry. He is late for his appointment at the heroin clinic. If he doesn’t make the appointment, he’ll receive methadone, not heroin, which has its adverse effects.

Jørgen visits his brother Ole’s burial place at Malling graveyard. ”I can’t fight the tears when I think of my brother. It just starts pouring. In this very moment too. I miss him every day”. The two brothers spent all their time together. 

Since Ole passed away, Jørgen has thought of himself as “a lonely cowboy”.

Jørgen's stuffed hummingbird.

A hummingbird often seeks a flower called Bird Of Paradise. Artistically the bird sucks out nectar, the flower essence, with it’s thin long beak.

Henrik, Jes and Jørgen crossing the road on a spring day in Aarhus. After visiting the heroin clinic, Jørgen usually goes to the supermarket to do grocery shopping and after that he gamble on the same ten numbers in a game called 'Keno'. He does that every day. 

If Jørgen's early-retirement-money won’t cover the expenses of the entire month, Jørgen begs around the city.

Jørgen (right) and his brother Ole (left) in one of Jørgen's family albums. His brother was a smart guy, who finished his theology degree while he and Jørgen sold a lot of heroin and made big bucks in the 80s. 

The profit that Jørgen and Ole gained from selling brown and grey heroin was gone from one day to the other. It was the end of the days of glory. Their dealers in the Netherlands were caught but they still had to find money for heroin. 

Birgitte (63) and Jørgen listening to Roger Waters. Jørgen is singing along: “It’s a miracle, another miracle”. 

“When we were young, I used to pray to God to have Birgitte be mine. I saw her do a show at a downtown disco once. Since then I was sold,” says Jørgen.

Jørgen starts the toaster but leaves the bread on for too long. “What’s happening Jørgen?!,” says Inger. The bread starts smoking and the smoke detector is activated. He stands on a chair to turn off the smoke detector and change the batteries at his mothers home. "Sorry, mum!" he yells.

“When Jørgen was a teenager, I worried a lot about him. He hung out with some real troublemakers. They pulled him into all of this,” says Inger.

Jørgen has just discharged himself from the hospital and is on his way home. Jørgen's one leg was double its normal size because of an infection. He loves to swing his walking stick when passers-by are looking. “I want to make a playlist for my funeral titled “Highway to Hell".

“Once I forgot 300 grams of heroin at a café in Hamburg. I spent all my money on that heroin. After that, I was ready to end it all and had prepared a gun to commit suicide. But I didn’t do it because I had no right to hurt my mother, brother, Birgitte and others”.

Maria and Jørgen on their way home from the heroin clinic. Maria lives in the same building as Jørgen, and they often accompany each other.

Jørgen has been through a MR-scanning. Jørgen has a good relationship with the nurses at the different institutions and hospitals that he goes to. The doctor suspects that Jørgen’s recent backpains are caused by spinal staphylococcus, one of his previous diseases.

“I always say that I’ve never feared death. But as of today, I’m not so sure anymore,” says Jørgen.

“The heroin clinic is the last stop before you die,” says one of the visitors outside the clinic. Maria (in the middle) and Pia (on the right) are waiting for a cab. They just had a fix and don’t have the energy to walk home. “Jørgen, wait! I have to talk to you,” Jon (on the left) yells. Jon and Jørgen (wearing a woolly hat) agree on a time to meet and deal cocaine.

Jørgen's friends from school call him “Sol”, which means sun. When Jørgen wasn’t in school, he always played football and, according to his own assessment, he was quite big of a talent. “Jørgen never came home from the pitch before sunset,” his mother Inger says.

The other night Jørgen’s mother, Inger, fell from her bed and hurt her back. She is in pain and Jørgen supports her in her kitchen. Inger's health has been significantly deteriorating over the past year. “Her condition has been critical, it was so close to the end. I’m so nervous on her behalf,” says Jørgen.

On his way home from his mother, Jørgen has to use the customer toilet in a grocery store to recharge his energy before he takes the bus back to Aarhus.

Jørgen is in a hurry and on his way to his bank before meeting a drug dealer. “Once, I ran away from an open prison because of severe withdrawal symptoms. Actually, I did it twice."

Jørgen takes a rest on a bench in his favourite park 'Skanseparken' close to his apartment in the center of Aarhus. He has lost a small lump of hash and is looking for it on the ground.

From the left: Morten, Henrik, Bo and Brian in the morning by the entrance to the heroin clinic. Jørgen has just walked through the door and out comes Brian with his dog.

Jørgen and Birgitte like to reminisce but talking about their memories may also easily provoke an argument between the two. It gets intense when they argue who did the lion’s share of the cocaine they bought together. Once in a while, it is necessary for them to be apart.

“I love to play loud music through the window for the people who are on their way home from a night out,” Jørgen laughs, side by side with his favourite crow. “I was one of the founders of ‘The Alice Cooper Gang’ in Malling. We were young and simply loved their rock music".

Jørgen is standing outside his door talking with Reza, another old guy from the drug scene.

Jørgen is hospitalized at Skejby Hospital's emergency department because of internal bleeding in his stomach.

December 2017. Maria and Jørgen are on their way home from the heroin clinic.

Jørgen knocks on Maria’s door and asks her if he can borrow some cigarettes. Unfortunately, the answer is no.

“Hey darling". Jørgen is in a taxi, telling Birgitte on the phone that he is in good health and on his way home after examinations at Skejby Hospital.

Jørgen when he is young and waves goodbye to his mother, while she is photographing him. Jørgen is on his way to prison, with a train called 'Oddergrisen'. Inger has made him a packed lunch and accompanied him to the train.

Birgitte and Jørgen love to talk about where they dream of traveling to.

With his walking stick, Jørgen is looking for his old diamond ring. He is sure that he has lost it.

Jørgen is dressed up ready to attend a high school anniversary, which takes place every fifth year. He never completed any education, but the staff at the heroin clinic, who helps him with his health and addiction, still calls him the clever guy.

Jørgen in the rain right outside his apartment. The license plate has been blurred

When Jørgen needs to buy his daily consumption of drugs, he often negotiates with other addicts. People from the drug scene calls Jørgen “one of the last men standing".

Jørgen is walking through Malling graveyard on his way to his mother. A few minutes later he yells: "No, no, no! I see several names of my old schoolmates on these headstones”.

Jørgen is sleeping in his apartment, while his favourite radio channel 'Radio24syv' is playing.

"My mother gave me these trousers. They're from Hugo Boss". 

“More than a woman,” Jørgen sings along to the disco track by Bee Gees while wearing a new wig. “I have the energy of a 16-year-old today. When I was little, I loved the voice and sound of Bee Gees, it was so wild and different”.

Jørgen and Brian run into each other at the harbour. A homeless drug addict has accused Jørgen for owing him money and has threatened him, which scares Jørgen. “Just let me know if anyone is after you. I’m behind you!” Brian says to Jørgen. They have known each other for a long time.

“Jørgen, talk to me!”, says Inger frustrated. Jørgen keeps falling asleep, no matter if he sits by the dining table or in the couch. He is exhausted and needs a rest.

“I have to go home to pick up the chicken, then I’ll be there,” says Jørgen to Birgitte on the phone, in a park next to the heroin clinic. It is Birgitte's birthday, but Jørgen is feeling stressed out because his mother, Inger, was recently hospitalized. Jørgen cannot bear if Inger also dies.

July 2021. Jørgen is comforted by Birgitte. He has just been diagnosed with cancer in his liver. The doctors cannot remove his tumor because of his present health condition. They are afraid that the surgery will only make his health worse. 

"The doctors say that I only have 2, 6 or 12 months left to live. They cannot say how long precisely. Yet, I still feel the spark of life inside me. I'm ready to fight for it. I do not feel that I'm dying," says Jørgen. 

Birgitte and Jørgen are talking about what to do. If Jørgen should move to a hospital, a hospice or stay at his apartment.

"I would never have made it, after Ole's death, if I didn't had my mother by my side. Now, I have to try to gather myself and tell her the news about my situation".

Jørgen is finally laying down. He is in shock. Only moments ago, one of his best friends Johnny had a heart attack. They live in the same building. Johnny fell down, when Jørgen entered his apartment. Jørgen gave him heart massage, until two ambulances arrived.

“What will happen to him? I'm his closest friend. Johnny has no family," says Jørgen to a nurse. Jørgen needs to lay down. He can feel his lack of power caused by the tumor. During the following night at 01:30, Johnny died.

“First comes the shock, sorrow and powerlessness, then comes the realization and hopefully the acceptance. But it can take a while reaching the last two things,” says Jørgen.

Jørgen has reduced his use of heroin and cocaine significantly after he got cancer. He wants to focus on the best possible time he can have.

Birgitte and Jørgen have known each other for 36 years. "I am constantly worried about him," says Birgitte.