‘Idiot. Brainwashed. Leftist.’ These are not words Anne-Mirthe scrolls past. For her graduation project at the Bachelor of Fine Art and Design in Education in Arnhem, she explores how people communicate online. Or rather, how harsh and one-sided those conversations often are.
“It can move you, make you laugh or make you think.”
Under the name @polarisatiepoezie, she collects comments posted under NOS news updates. She prints them on posters, turns them into small booklets and puts them on T-shirts. By making those words tangible, she takes them out of the anonymity of the internet. “I don’t change what’s written. I just place it in a different context. One that makes you think.”
A fascination with what people really think runs through all her work. “I want to understand what’s happening outside the art bubble. How does the rest of the world see culture? And what can I, as an artist, do to spark that conversation?”
That conversation isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it clashes. Sometimes it stings. But that, Anne-Mirthe says, is where the power of art lies: “It can move you, make you laugh or make you think.”
Anne-Mirthe's finals 2025
After graduating, Anne-Mirthe wants to keep developing her project. She sees possibilities in education. As teaching material, or as a way to start discussions with pupils about online behaviour. “There’s clear educational value in it. Polarisation isn’t just something that happens online, it’s part of everyday life.”
With her work, she turns online noise into reflection. Opening up space for dialogue, both in the classroom and beyond.