The birth of Merry Project was blowing just like wind. In 1999, an art director Koji Mizutani took photos in the bus when he was travelling around the U.S. His passion for the project was ignited when he felt happiness from the unfettered smiles. He thought that positive, forward-facing smiles could change our future, just like the smiles of the girls lit up his heart.
　There are more aspects in "Merry". As art, the origin of "Merry" is seen from the book "Merry／merry-go-round forever" the photos in the U.S. Then "Merry" stepped up to the 2nd phase. Mizutani exhibited photos of smiles of girls in Harajuku at Laforet Museum Harajuku and also the girls wrote down their dreams. The vision of ultimate happiness, which the girls hinted to him, started to be cultivated as communication art.
　The more people admire his ability and give him attention, the more he wants to face people with his spirit and see their smiles. "A smile is a universal language of communication." When the slogan was made, the 2nd aspect of Merry was born. The "Merry campaign" as a social message began to be performed all over the world. Lots of photos were taken and exhibited in many places. Merry EXPO at EXPO 2005 Aichi Japan is the final stage of the campaign. For Merry EXPO, photos of smiles of more than 20,000 people from 23 countries and their messages were exhibited. Smiles of children were displayed on a huge screen at EXPO plaza. The smiles of children were like shining light sheds upon the future. This entertaining exhibition caught the visitors' heart.
　People who are attracted and sympathise with the views of "Merry" is expanding. This is the 3rd aspect of "Merry". Mizutani went to places where smiles had almost disappeared such as Kobe after huge earthquakes, New York after the act of terrorism. He thought that "Merry" could be a bridge to recover the brightness of people in overcoming serious set backs. During an interview with the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, Mizutani said "The more you experience difficulty, the more beautiful your smile becomes". Mizutani and his company now work hard to have schools constructed in South Africa. Mizutani strives for children with bright smiles in South Africa.
　When I look at numbers of smiles for Merry, mystery of a face as ultimate expression tool and a smile as positive expression stirs my heart. Each face is a minimal, realistic, happy-looking icon. However, if you look at the smiling faces together, they form a firm and solid philosophy. I feel my heart is opening by this infinite possibility of a social message supported by the grass roots community created through art.

［Yoshinori Kaneko / Photo Critic］