New Christchurch Attraction "Wall of Smiles" Created by Taiwanese Backpacker’s Street Performances

Reported by You T-Ru / Taipei

“I hope to collect a thousand smiles.” Terry, a 32-year-old young man from Pingtung, traveled and collected smiles. (Photo / From Terry’s “Traveling with Ukulele” fan page)


▲32-year-old young man from Pingtung, Terry, collects smiles while traveling. (Photo / From Terry’s “Traveling with Ukulele” fan page)

“There are several quake-damaged houses in Christchurch, their exteriors fenced off with wire mesh, on which photos and messages of remembrance are posted,” Terry described the post-earthquake scenes he witnessed during his travels, all conveying the locals’ grief. “I hope that when people walk past these walls, they won’t just see sadness, but also smiles full of hope.” A simple idea to make more people smile turned Terry from a passerby into someone who stayed behind to bring love and emotion to the local community.


▲Terry said: “I hope that when people walk past these walls, they won’t just see sadness, but also smiles full of hope.” (Photo / From the “Smiling Christchurch” fan page)

Over the course of a year, Terry worked odd jobs in various New Zealand towns while playing the ukulele to collect smiles. “What impressed me most while gathering smiles was a Māori man whose clothes and pants were completely torn. When he saw me performing on the street, he actually reached out to give me money,” Terry laughed. The Māori man, who thought Terry was a street performer, broke into a genuine, radiant smile after hearing about his plan to collect smiles for Christchurch.

Besides standing alone on the street, Terry also used the “couchsurfing” method to stay with locals. On one occasion, he stayed with a 72-year-old retired teacher. “I asked the retired teacher, Peter, ‘Would you like to go to the street with me to collect smiles?’” Initially shy, Peter eventually stepped onto the street and became a street performer for the first time, encouraged by Terry. To his surprise, he met former students who joined in to “smile,” helping Peter fulfill his dream of being a street artist.

After spending a year collecting smiles across New Zealand, Terry collaborated with a local art center to collage the smile photos into a three-meter-high, nine-meter-wide wall. They then invited a local artist to paint a map of New Zealand. This wall is now displayed in downtown Christchurch, showcasing this long-term exhibition of “smile art” created jointly by a young Taiwanese and the world.


▲Terry collaborated with a local art center to collage the smile photos into a three-meter-high, nine-meter-wide wall. (Photo / From Terry’s “Traveling with Ukulele” fan page)

“I used to have a dream of traveling. Before leaving Taiwan, I thought it would be hard to take the first step, but once I did, I realized my second life had begun through travel.” Now that Terry has completed his smile collection project in New Zealand, he has picked up his backpack again and headed to Japan, hoping to gather even more smiles to bring hope to those affected by earthquakes.


▲“Smile Art” created jointly by young Taiwanese and the world. (Photo / From the “Smiling Christchurch” fan page)