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HELLO FATHER

Johanna Heldebro Stalked Her Dad for Art

Published February, 2010
PHOTOS BY JOHANNA HELDEBRO
INTERVIEW BY ROCCO CASTORO

“This is where my dad lives in Sweden. Before arriving, I had only seen it on a satellite photo. I wanted the viewer to see the way I followed him—how with each shot I’m trying to get closer and closer.”

About four years ago, photographer Johanna Heldebro’s father abruptly left his family in Montreal and relocated to his native Sweden. Johanna’s parents had just finalized a sudden divorce after Mr. Heldebro disclosed that he was having an affair with a mother of two who lived in Stockholm. Of course, everyone was angry and confused. But instead of writing her dad’s name 30 times on a piece of paper in black ink and burning it over a black candle, Johanna decided to use the unfortunate situation as inspiration for her artwork. She traveled to Sweden to stalk her dad and find out about his new life firsthand.

The outcome was To Come Within Reach of You (Gunnar Heldebro, Hässelby Strandväg 55, 165 65 Hässelby), a photo series that acted as her graduate thesis for New York City’s School of Visual Arts. After viewing her work, we asked Johanna if she’d allow us to publish some of the images in Vice. She agreed and even did us one better by granting us an interview about the whole ordeal.

Vice: How did you end up stalking your dad?
Johanna Heldebro: My parents’ divorce happened, and my dad and I had a pretty big falling-out. I would talk to him once in a while, but I mostly severed ties with him. I knew he lived in Stockholm. I didn’t know where he had moved exactly, just that he lived with his girlfriend and her two kids. A couple of years passed and one time when he was in New York for business we got lunch. I had my camera with me, and I ended up following him after we said good-bye.

What were you hoping to discover?
I wanted to see what he did when he was by himself. That was the inspiration for the project, and then I started looking him up on the internet. Using satellite images, I found out where his house was located. I did research and started traveling back and forth between New York and Sweden, photographing him over a period of eight or nine months.

And he had no idea you were tailing him?
None. I really wanted to be able to watch him without him being able to put on a mask or act a certain way. I didn’t feel like I knew him at all because of the things that had happened between him and my mom and me during the divorce. I guess I was kind of expecting to see him living this wild, exciting life.

If you don’t mind me asking, why did your parents get a divorce?
Basically my dad just decided that he didn’t want anything to do with us. He decided that he wasn’t living the life that he wanted to live. He realized he didn’t like my mom at all. Right before Christmas ’05 he was totally fine, then over the holidays something happened. He fell when he was out dancing with my mom or something. After that he just got cranky. In February he didn’t come on this family trip we had planned for my mom’s birthday. About a month later he said he wanted a divorce and then, after my mom went to Sweden to try and save their marriage, it turned out that he was in a relationship with this woman he worked with. I don’t know how long that relationship went on. He claims that it started recently, but it could have been going on for years as far as we know.

Is your mom now living in Sweden too?
Yeah, she didn’t really have a choice. She couldn’t stay in Montreal by herself because she wasn’t able to work there without a visa; she was pretty financially dependent on my dad.

So how many times did you go to Sweden with the intent of following him around?
Three times. I would just take the train out to where he lived when I knew that no one would be home.

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