Bonnie Fournier wants to collect 10,000 photos of people smooching. Why smooching? Even though the word itself does not suggest its strength, smooching is a powerful symbol of people’s ability to love and show compassion toward one another. In a busy, stressful world that often overlooks such small acts as a kiss on the cheek, Fournier’s collection of photographs, simply called “The Smooch Project,” highlights these moments and shows that, in Fournier’s words, “perhaps the world is not as scary a place as we might sometimes think.”

"Adam luvs Owen"

The project started with one seemingly accidental photograph. During a local art event, Fournier turned a camera usually pointed outwards on herself and her twin sister, Barb. Barb kissed her sister on the cheek as she snapped the shot. Later, Fournier found that she liked the photo so much that she had it framed and put on her wall where it could remind her of that spontaneous moment of love that they had shared.

"Denae luvs Duane"

“That was a time when I was trying to get gallery representation for my photography, and it was a big challenge,” Bonnie explains. “I started getting discouraged, but every time I looked at that photo it made me feel better.” She wondered what would happen if she took photos of other people kissing a person they loved. Would those pieces be as powerful to other people as they were to her? She decided to find out, and the Smooch Project began.

"Isidro luvs Stefany"

Since then, Fournier has taken thousands of photos at many public and private gatherings, such as the Twin Cities Pride Celebration. Her set-up is simple: she shoots a series of photographs of two people—one kissing the other—in front of a black velvet background. Fournier chose this composition because she could easily replicate it wherever she was shooting and it would help to bring the photographs together as a collection. She’s done about twenty shoots so far, mostly in the Twin Cities area and her hometown of Duluth, but she hopes to take the Smooch Project to all fifty states and perhaps even abroad. “I would love to go to Australia, Ireland, Africa, and New Zealand, and I hope that this project could take me to those places,” Fournier said.

"Londra luvs Stanea"

Just because the project hasn’t traveled too far from home doesn’t mean that the photographer hasn’t seen a wide range of interesting characters in her shoots. Bonnie fondly remembers all of her subjects. There was the woman who wanted to smooch a photo of her son on her cell phone, and the little girl who shrieked with excitement every time her mom kissed her. Then there were two people smooching in garish Halloween masks. “Some people will say, ‘Oh, I’m just not photogenic,’ or someone else has dragged them into the shoot, and they’re pretty reluctant to get their photo taken,” Fournier explains, “But it’s amazing—people transform when they realize that someone they love is openly showing them affection.”

"Luther luvs Jesse"

Fournier explains that the Smooch Project is really about the process, not the goal. She says that she started working on the project to lift her spirits and hoped that she would touch others as well. Explaining how the project has influenced her, Fournier refers to a Buddhist term, "mudita," which she translates as “sympathetic joy,” or joy that comes from experiencing the happiness of others. This feeling resonates with her, she says, “because I feel good just seeing other people’s joy, and having to photograph that is extremely worthwhile—this project is my mudita machine.”

"Sandy luvs Alice"

In the next few months, look for our new series, “OUTtakes from the Smooch Project,” on Rainbow Rumpus. We’ll be publishing outtake photos of LGBT-headed families that Fournier photographed for the Smooch Project. Even though all subjects are in the same circumstances during the shooting, Fournier has shown that each couple, or family, is unique. If one photograph of a family can be so captivating, we wonder what we will find when we get a glimpse into the day-to-day lives of these families who happened to stumble into her photo booth for a few smooches.

For more information about the Smooch Project, check out the website at www.thesmoochproject.com. If you are interested in participating, go to the “Calendar” link there for a list of upcoming shoots or get on the project email list by contacting Bonnie Fournier at photogirl@thesmoochproject.com.

Bonnie Fournier