Florentine + Jette Joop
Can they settle their dispute?
Jette, Wolfgang and Florentine Joop in Berlin in 2009.
© Eventpress / imago images
Nobody expected this reconciliation to happen so quickly, but it seems to be within reach: Florentine and Jette Joop are giving a joint interview after more than ten years.
In the ARTE program “Twist” under the title “Siblings – Creative Together” the sisters Florentine, 51, and Jette Joop, 56, appear together in front of the camera and talk about their childhood and growing up together. Is this a good sign? The sisters are actually considered to be at odds. Now they seem to be taking a step towards each other.
Florentine Joop: “We weren’t allowed to do anything else”
“Two sisters with creative professions,” begins the part of the documentary about the two women. They have a clear commonality – and yet the relationship between the two is anything but harmonious. Sitting on two chairs and looking directly into the camera, the two sisters begin to speak. They talk about their professions and Jette explains that they can’t do anything else. “We weren’t allowed to do anything else,” Florentine replies. Creativity was in their blood. A tension can be felt during the conversation, which is confirmed when one of them explains that she “would have liked to have been something else.”
Jette Joop knows that “competition has been stoked”
Both delve deeper into their childhood and Jette Joop explains: “I think that competition was fuelled between us.” This also led to “confusion and disorientation” while growing up. The age difference between the two also becomes a topic. The designer first draws a version of the bond that later fell apart. “We were very close as children […] Then I went to England when I was 15 because I didn’t want to live in Germany anymore. […] We became a little estranged.” Florentine Joop also felt this estrangement. “She was never the child with me. She was always five years older,” the illustrator finally explains. She also always wanted a brother. Nevertheless, she is aware that the bond with her sister is very important. And what is it like today?
Is the argument between the sisters over?
Around ten years ago, there were major differences between Florentine and Jette Joop. The reason for this was apparently a dispute over inheritance. All of the difficult times could now be behind the sisters, because in the documentary, the older sister Jette explains: “In old age, creativity brings us together again” – and that almost sounds as if they have come to terms with the past.
Sources used: arte.tv, bild.de