October 28, 2025 • 28 mins
Join Simon and Andrew on a journey of discovery as they travel with Ben Yew from the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to the sleepy seaside town of Bunbury, Western Australia.
While Ben was looking for a spark to inspire him as he recovered from cancer, he was motivated to try to inspire others who might be going through a similar situation. Ben is a renowned award winning brilliant photographer and visual storyteller. He began his creative journey as a destination wedding photographer, and has now focused his talents on highlighting everyday people sharing important and often vulnerable moments.
Ben's One Bunbury Project celebrates 100 remarkable individuals from Bunbury, and is also a book of the same name. Find out more here on Ben's website: onebunbury.com.au
This project is more than just a book. It’s the beginning of a movement, with proceeds supporting the launch of an Inspirational Scholarship program for young creatives and the expansion of One [City] projects nationally and globally.
Support Vision Australia Radio: https://www.visionaustralia.org/donate
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:17):
Hello and welcome to In Plain Sight, a program where
we highlight people who are making a positive impact in
the community and disability sector.
S2 (00:25):
Shining a light on those who would be otherwise hidden
in plain sight.
S1 (00:29):
And it's a pleasure to bring you these stories on
a weekly basis with you here on Vision Australia Radio.
How are you this week?
S2 (00:35):
Simon I'm great. Andrew. It's good to be here as
it is always. And how are you going?
S1 (00:40):
I'm really well this week. Um, yeah, very busy with
other things, but yeah, it's good to be busy and
good to be in the studio.
S2 (00:47):
It is. And today we are sort of somewhat following
the theme that we've had for a little while about books.
And this week, later on in with our interview guests,
we're going to be talking to a guy who has
created and compiled a book that is trying to enhance
a particular community. In this case, it was Bunbury. Before
(01:08):
we move on to the actual context of the interview
that's coming up later on, I wanted to talk about
the community that I'm involved with and have been involved
with for a long time, and that is part of
what we are doing here at Vision Australia Radio, which
is trying to develop and encourage people to be part
of their community. And the first thing I want to
talk about is that it's AGM season. Most businesses and
(01:32):
community organisations have their AGM and they come on around
about this time of year. And one particular organisation that
I've been involved with in the past that I'm not
directly involved with now, is an organisation called people with Disabilities,
Western Australia. And their AGM is coming up soon. And
can you tell us the dates and details of that
(01:53):
AGM please Andrew.
S1 (01:55):
Sure. It's coming up on the 12th of November and
it's taking place at the City West Lotterys House in
West Perth, and registration for that opens at 5:00 and
the meeting starts at 530. So you can just register
on the day. You don't have to pre-register. And the
meeting ends at 7:00. Short and sweet.
S2 (02:14):
Yes. To find out more about that, look up people
with disabilities Western Australia Online and contact Vanessa Jessett, who
is the Communications Officer there at PWD, to find out
how to be part of the AGM. And I really
encourage people to get involved with these kinds of organisations.
(02:35):
For those who don't know, PWD is Western Australia's leading
advocacy organisation for people with disabilities and it is a
very important and well regarded organisation that helps support people
with a disability in this state and at this time
in particular, it is very important to support those organisations
(03:00):
that help support us. And I say very important at
this time, because governments are not supporting these kinds of
organisations and with funding being so dire and money so tight.
It's really important that we who are interested in these
things get involved. If you think you can, please do.
(03:24):
It's a great way of contributing to our community, and
it's a great way of having your say and getting
involved and making a difference within the world in which
we live. And as I said, support the organisations that
support us. Also, whilst I'm talking about that one organisation
that is dear to my heart and a big part
(03:46):
of my life for many years, and is very close
to what we are trying to achieve here at Vision
Australia and Non Vision Australia. Radio in particular is an
organisation called Blind Citizens Western Australia BC and their AGM
is also coming up very soon. And do you have
the details for that Andrew.
S1 (04:05):
I do. It's Saturday, the 1st of November and it's
10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and that's taking place at visibility,
which is located in Victoria Park here in Perth.
S2 (04:16):
Again, please try to support these organisations. Blind citizens in
Western Australia do not get any funding at all from
any source. We sometimes do have projects that we get
funding from and I say we because I am part
of that organisation. I have been involved over many years
(04:38):
and we do great work in that. We support our
local community, that is people who are blind or visually impaired,
and we support them with advocacy, information and peer support.
That is, we try to encourage each other to be independent, strong,
being confident within themselves and having their vision impairment. Look
(05:01):
up blind citizens, Western Australia, find out more about them
and again, get involved. Be part of our broader community
and our disability and blindness community, and help contribute and
support those who are supporting us. Now, Andrew, what have
we got coming up this week on our interview? Focus.
S1 (05:20):
Our guest is Ben You. And he has produced this
remarkable book. And also there's an accompanying website, which is, um,
sort of a continuation from the book, as you'll find
out in the interview. So the book has been produced,
but that's not the end of the project, and it's
looking at 100 Bunbury community members. It's a really interesting
(05:41):
interview that you've done.
S2 (05:43):
I really want to highlight the nature of this project
is all about community and extending the community, and the
title of the book is One Bunbury, but it's one
community that we're all part of and we all participate in.
I hope you enjoy this interview, which is coming up
for you right now. Hi. Thanks for joining us once
(06:06):
again on In Plain Sight on Vision Australia Radio. It's
good to be with you. And today our guest is
a visual artist and a and photographer who has compiled
a book called One Bunbury, and his name is Ben You.
And he joins us in the studio now to talk
about his book and his project called One Bunbury. And
it's great pleasure to have Ben you in the studio
(06:28):
with us now. Hi, Ben. Welcome.
S3 (06:30):
Thank you so much for having me, Simon. And, um, yeah, very, um,
happy to be here to share the project.
S2 (06:35):
We should start with a little bit about what the
project is, and then we'll get to how you came
to be motivated to create the project. But firstly, tell
us about this beautiful photography book that you have compiled
here with some of your wonderful photos and what it's
all about, the book and the project one Bunbury.
S3 (06:57):
I'll get started with. You know how I got the
idea initially, because I have and I had another project
in the past called Yuriko. It was interviewing.
S2 (07:07):
Just say that again slowly.
S3 (07:08):
Sorry, I, I had, uh, project in the past. Similar
to this. It's called Yuriko. Um, that is interviewing people
and taking really creative photos because of all the creative
freedom I get to have. And I struggled with that
because I think I have this problem of reading. I
(07:29):
can't read more than a page or two. So I
struggled with writing that, so it got left behind. So then, um,
one day I thought, why not? I have a simplified
version to cater to everyone, including people like myself, to
just get the best out of it. So how I
got started is through, um, when I was diagnosed with
(07:50):
cancer five years ago and I first started, um, I
realized that when I was told that I have cancer, um,
I was a bit lost, um, searching for answers, uh,
through internet. And what I got was another question. It was,
why not you? So why not you? Um. Then I
tried to look at the stats and all that. The
(08:11):
answer I got was, why not you? And the stats
is maybe 1 in 5. 1 in 10 people around
you will get cancer. So I look at it in
a different perspective now instead of being, you know, sad
and angry and all that, I'm grateful that it wasn't,
you know, 1 in 5, 1 in 10. It means
it hits home. It could be your family. It could
(08:32):
be your parents, your kids, even who have not even lived,
started their life. So I'm grateful it was me. And
I went through it in another mindset, another perspective. So
why I'm sharing this is because sometimes a quote could
shift perspective, and sometimes it could inspire someone, or sometimes
even at the right time. Right place could save someone.
(08:53):
So a quote can be very powerful. And that's where
the inspiration came from for the book. Yeah.
S2 (08:59):
So the book is portrait photos that you've taken because
you're well established, beautiful photographer. And with each portrait photo,
you've got the subjects of the people who you took
the photo of to write a quote, an inspirational quote,
to go along with that. And there's 100 people from
Bunbury for those who aren't in Western Australia. Bunbury is
(09:21):
one of our largest rural cities, two hours drive south
of Perth. I am all about community and I like
what you've done here, Ben. That's why I wanted to
come in and talk to you, because you've helped with
this book and other things that you've done. Instil a
sense of community and pride in community, in a sense
of common purpose with this book.
S3 (09:42):
Precisely, yeah.
S2 (09:44):
So you just mentioned that you were diagnosed with cancer
about five years ago. Can you tell us what the
nature is of your cancer and where you are within
that process now?
S3 (09:54):
Yeah. Um, well, it was five years ago. And like
I've shared earlier, I'm very grateful and thankful it was me.
And then it cancer gave me clarity. All the noises
disappears from there. You know what is most important in life?
It wasn't money. It wasn't all that. So it gave
me clarity. So that's how I even came up with
this book. So how, given a second chance in life,
(10:15):
how can I give back and contribute now? I may
not have a lot of money to give everyone. So
what I have is my experience to share stories that
could inspire others. So it's a community inspired project.
S2 (10:27):
So, Ben, can you tell us what what's the nature
of your cancer diagnosis and what type of cancer was
it that you had five years ago?
S3 (10:35):
I'm not really good with names, but I think it's
nasal or something. It's a very technical.
S2 (10:40):
Where does that affect?
S3 (10:42):
It is in my head. So what happened was in
the past, my past life, I was traveling a lot
doing destination weddings. So I always on the plane. So
when the plane descends, your ear normally pops your eardrum
or pop, right? So, um, my eardrum did not pop
for for an hour, for a week, for a month,
up to three months. Then I thought, okay, maybe there's
a problem. So I went to see my ENT specialist.
(11:03):
They said, well, I can pop the eardrum for you,
put a grommet in to release the pressure that's stuck
in there that caused the pain. So, um, but I'm
curious because people of your men of your age normally
do not have the problem. Kids? Yes. So she said,
why not? I do a biopsy as I did that.
That's how she found the cancer in the first place. Um,
five years on, I was as of 2 or 3
(11:25):
weeks ago, I was diagnosed with cancer again. Apparently it's
the new cancer, but next to it. So it's the
same cancer as well. So now I'm going, um, planning actually,
as we speak yesterday, I was with my oncologist as well, um,
planning the treatment plan so everything could start, um, probably,
you know, 1 or 2 weeks time. Yeah.
S2 (11:44):
So you still literally in the midst of. Yeah, the
process of dealing with cancer. Yeah. I understand fully what
you're saying about not knowing and understanding the full technical terminologies.
At the end of the day, you just need to
know that you've got a cancer and it affected you
in a particular place within your body. And these are
(12:05):
the treatments. So what type of treatments have you had
to go through to help you with that?
S3 (12:10):
The last one was it was radiation and chemo this round.
I'm quite lucky because of my past experience, the moment
I felt, you know, you sort of know your body
enough to know if something is wrong. You may not
be able to pinpoint what that was, but I realized
that my ear is stuck again. But, you know, same ear.
But anyway, I'm curious. So my oncologist at first told
(12:33):
me that, oh, you're fine because something got, you know, missed.
And then my ENT found that nope, you actually have cancer.
So going back to that at the moment, as of today,
I'm stage one lucky. So meaning only radiation for now,
but surgery could be a backup. But because the doctor
(12:53):
said it's quite complicated in the head, we will try
to avoid surgery at all costs. That's the last resort.
And radiation. Sorry. Chemo may have to come in because
of the past. Cancer. It it ruined a lot of
what is in my head. My hearing got to be
a problem. My saliva glands and a few other things. Um,
if I'm going to hit you hard again, it's going
(13:14):
to be quite bad. So he need to reduce the
radiation amount, but probably got to bring in the chemo
to help balance that. And the chemo cannot hit too
hard as well. So they're trying because the second time
close to the same spot it's not really good. So
that is the plan at the moment. But as of
today I don't have confirmation yet. They're still discussing as
(13:35):
as as we speak. Yeah.
S2 (13:36):
Well, again, I really appreciate you coming in, especially under
those kinds of circumstances. And I fully appreciate and understand
the motivation for you creating and compiling this beautiful book. Um,
tell us about bringing these people together, the process of
finding these people, recruiting them for the for the project
(13:59):
and what what helped motivate them.
S3 (14:02):
I think at the beginning was a bit challenging because
I live in Banbury, but I'm not always there. I
was traveling a lot. I didn't know who the mayor
was that time because I don't really care. I just
do my work, you know, I just my clients are
all over everywhere, so. But because of cancer, I'm sort
of stuck at home. And then it's very humbling experience
to to, you know, it's like, okay, I'm grounded now.
(14:22):
I can't travel for a while, so why not look
at things within Banbury? So I reached out to a
few people at first, and some people may not even
agree with. Oh, I don't know about that. Maybe it works,
maybe it doesn't work. And I have even approached some
organization that they say, um, if I sort of contribute
to that, I would probably like to have some control.
(14:45):
So I said, no, no thank you. This is my project.
I like have the full creative freedom and focus on
the community. So going back to the question you just asked,
like how you know, what makes people want to be
a part of the book? Because I always share the
story that what this book is really about is not
about your face. It's not about all these things. It's about,
and I got people coming, but I don't deserve to
(15:07):
be in a book. You know? I'm not I'm not
a high profile person. Why? You know, I feel inferior
to be being a book. I said, it's not who
you are, it's what you've done. And those people who
fly under the radar who does a lot of good things,
that's what I'm after as well. And the people who
have done, you know, in, in the media as well.
But my focus here is it is not what you have, just,
(15:29):
you know, seen doing is what you can share from
your experience in your life, the message that you carry,
that when you go through the hardest time in your life.
What was the voice in your head that tells you
keep pushing it through. Now I'm after that. If you
share that that quote that. Because when when you think
you don't think of 500 words. I do this because
(15:50):
I don't know. There's a few words in your mind
could be from your parents, from your partner, or from
your grandparents or somewhere you pick up along the way.
You create. Yeah.
S2 (15:58):
I know that you asked your participants to contribute a
quote from their own personal life, not a famous quote
from a famous person and so on. Yeah. Um, I
did see a YouTube clip of you talking like a presentation. Yeah. Um,
and the I think it was the mayor of Bunbury
or some someone like that was so impressed and so
(16:18):
pleased that you, you did this project and helped bring
people together in the town of Bunbury.
S1 (16:26):
You're listening to In Plain Sight on Vision Australia Radio
with Simon Cheng and me, Andrew Williams. Our guest this
week is visual artist and photographer Ben Yu, whose project
One Bunbury takes the form of a beautiful book and
website profiling 100 Bunbury community members. And now it's back
to Simon and Ben. I read that you.
S2 (16:48):
Are originally from Malaysia.
S3 (16:50):
Yeah I am, yeah, yeah.
S2 (16:51):
And how long have you been living in Bunbury?
S3 (16:53):
Oh, the first time I arrived here, I think I
lost count 17 or 18 years ago. Okay, so it's
been a while. Yeah.
S2 (17:00):
How did you choose Bunbury?
S3 (17:02):
Well, okay. Back then, I was, uh, in from Kuala Lumpur. Um,
you know, the city that never sleeps and all that.
So I told my migration agent I was like, I
need a break. I probably share this short story with
you because, you know, I was doing this business in Malaysia,
I think around 15 staff and all that. I was ambitious,
I want to build, you know, big company. I want
(17:23):
to take over the world in a way. You know,
I was so ambitious and all that. Then I think
to myself, all right, if I do that and I
do this and I do that, the risk becomes higher
and higher. I got less time to spend with the
people I love most. And along the way, you know,
there will be politics, there will be things. And it's
so lonely at the top and finally, rich at the top.
There's no one around you with all the money in
(17:44):
the world but loneliness, what you have. And after that,
what would you do? You retire. Okay, you retire early.
What is the definition of retirement for me, I'm like,
I would buy a house by the beach and just relax.
I said, okay, why don't have a shortcut in this now?
Why don't I forgo the money and just go straight
to somewhere that is coastal, somewhere that is so city ish,
(18:08):
but not too quiet because coming from KL.
S2 (18:11):
Is.
S3 (18:12):
Busy, so a good balance there. So Banbury was selected
by me. I didn't, I didn't know where Banbury was.
I haven't even been to Western Australia. I've been to
Sydney and Adelaide, but I've never even been to Perth.
So when I migrated it was the first time and
I saw on the way down because I took a
train down, I was like, there's no building, it's just farms.
(18:33):
But because that's on the way down. So when I arrived,
it was a public holiday, I think. And again, I've
never been here and I've always been to big cities
with hustle and bustle. There's no train station is always
cabs and taxis and buses. I rock up nothing, just
one person standing next to me. It was quiet. There's
no bus, there's no taxi waiting. There was nothing like
(18:56):
the lady was there. I remember her, she said, you
need help. I was like, yeah, is there somewhere I
can call a taxi? He said, let me help you.
Call the taxi. For me. It was so quiet. It
was such a shock for me coming to Australia thinking
it's hustle and bustle. And even in Banbury I would
think there would be something. It was so quiet because
it was public holiday, I think I didn't know that. So, um,
so it took me, I think, two years to slow
(19:18):
down my mind to stop thinking about growth, but start
appreciating the space that we have.
S2 (19:25):
Yeah, I don't mean to put you under pressure, but
do you have maybe 2 or 3 people you can
tell us about within your book that made some kind
of impact.
S3 (19:32):
When I started interviewing, even like getting funding for this project,
you always think the people you know, the closest or
this is the one that helped you, I was wrong.
It's the people you least expect. They are strangers. I
walk up to this guy that I know him from
waiting years ago, and I just told him about the project.
He said, I'm going to put in money for you.
(19:54):
Are you sure you're a small business owner? You're going
to put this much money? He said, I believe in this.
And those I would still say I know him, but
he's still a stranger. When I approach people I know,
some of them say, um, I don't know about that.
So moving forward from there, the interview is the same
as well. Meaning, when you come with high profile people
sitting in front of you. Expect you learn the most.
(20:16):
The people I learn the most are the most down
to earth, under the radar guys and did work that
you know, not many talk about or speak about. But
having said that, I still got people who speak really,
you know, share a lot of things. I'm going to
share one with you. She's, um, she's from she's a
nougat person, uh, in Banbury. Um, and I don't know
(20:37):
her before then. Is she just was nominated and I
brought her in. It is not just a message that
she shared that day. It was also the voice and
the way she shared. A lot of times, what I
learned from her is that if someone is going through
tough times and grief and all that, we all trying
sometimes to be smart and say, would you like to
try this? Would you like to do that wrong? She said,
(20:59):
just sit with the person. You don't even need to
speak because they need space to accept and all that.
So just sit with that person and wait. It could
be half an hour. It could be one hour, it
could be more. But when you're ready to talk, then
you know she will start speaking. And the calmness in
her voice. That's why I'm so lucky I got a
video for that too is Karen Jetta. She is amazing.
(21:22):
So I carry that with me. I, I may not
remember everything she said, but I remember the expression that
she had was just silence. You walk with that person
when they're ready to walk with you. It's just just
be there. You don't even need to say a word.
Just be there. So that was good. And the other
(21:42):
one was, I think it was the constable or head
of police in Banbury then I can't remember. Um, Jeff Stewart,
you know, you would think that cops and police officers
and all that, you know, they, they, they do their
job because sometimes they just do their job to get
paid and all that. But he shared something very personal
with me and the community about how the community moved him.
(22:05):
He do it for the community. And he shared a
story about his daughter. Um, there was one time, um,
they found out the daughter's best friend died. I don't
know for what reason. And that night, he and his
wife discussed. Should we tell the daughter before it gets announced?
They didn't know what to do. So on the day
(22:27):
of the school. So he did not share? They did
not share. On the day of the school, when the
principal announced or someone announced that her best friend passed away,
Jeff Stewart was there. Um. And she said, why you
didn't tell me earlier? The disappointment on the face or
the sadness in the face was he he got a
bit emotional there. So that's where I felt, oh, you know,
(22:48):
that's something we learn as well, but not so much
on that message. But the passion, the sacrifice the police
officer have to make. I think that one that year,
I think seven police officers passed away or something.
S2 (23:01):
That sacrifice.
S3 (23:02):
The sacrifice that.
S2 (23:03):
He fought, not only, uh, person like a police officer makes,
but yeah, most of us need to make sacrifice and
compromise in everyday life, some more than others. Yeah. Um,
and also just to clarify, for those who don't know,
Noongar is the local Aboriginal people in the south west
of Western Australia, in Bunbury. Being in the south west
(23:25):
is probably the heartland area of the Noongar peoples. So
100 people contributed to this book, is that right?
S3 (23:33):
Yep. 100 interviews, 100 voices.
S2 (23:36):
And. And so you've also got a complimentary, uh, website.
And so it's, it's more than a book. It's a,
it's a living project.
S3 (23:43):
Yeah. It it is a platform and trying to create
for inspiration. So it's an ongoing, uh, project that keeps
moving and one of one of the part that the
ecosystem is trying to build around inspiration is to have
the book journey, where that's why I brought this book
as well. And, you know, and I do pass the
book around the world. I sent to a few countries
(24:05):
now to let people to add on to it. Now,
the 100 quotes is just the beginning that is printed.
It just It just started here. But what I'm trying
to do is to have 200, 300 quotes written, scribbled
on the book as it gets passed around, and hopefully
it gets passed to the person who needs it the most.
(24:25):
Looking and waiting for a sign. You may not. You
don't need to read every page, but sometimes you randomly
open a page and that spoke to you randomly. And
that's what I'm going to grow the book. It's not
meant to be, just that it's meant to be grow.
S2 (24:39):
Yeah, I do like that. It's a book and the
focus is more about the book. Yeah. And you have
a complimentary website that goes with it. Yeah, but a
physical book with these lovely photos, really well created portraits
of these people. Um, and like you say, you want
people who have the book in front of them to
use it for themselves. A bit like a journal, in
(25:02):
a sense. Yeah. And it's so much better to have
a physical document in front of you, rather than a
website that can come and go. It's a great, great thing.
I'm intrigued to with you said that some people within
your community helped, uh, to contribute financially and so forth
to because it's not cheap to create a book of
(25:22):
this nature. Yeah, that was that a tricky process?
S3 (25:25):
Oh, it was because I've never done this before. I'm
a photographer filmmaker. I've never authored a book or don't
know what needs to be done. So I don't know
if there's a process even to come up with this book.
You have this vision. They said, okay, I want this
book to look like this, feel like this and all that.
But when I met the printer, or you can't do this,
(25:46):
you can't print this. It's too fine. You. You can't
divorce this. You can't have this. It's just. No no
no no no. But I told him I don't blame you.
That's how it is in Perth. Because it was done
in Perth. Um, so I got to practice what I preach,
every challenges that gets thrown at me. It means I
get the opportunity to improve this. This book is not
meant to look like this. It was meant to look
(26:07):
like a design. Beautiful designer book, but it doesn't feel
community based.
S2 (26:14):
Yes.
S3 (26:14):
So because of the limitation of what they can't do
in terms of cover and the color of the paper
and all that which I selected, a particular paper said, no,
we only have this. It turned out because I redo
the cover alone, I think 15, 20 times, I redesigned
20 times, and each time they said, no, I improved this,
(26:35):
I said no. So at the end of the day,
you know, I like to look at perspective that they
rejected at first place or 15 times or 20 times,
so I can keep improving that. So it was a
challenge through design and the funding part as well. So yeah.
S2 (26:49):
So everything as often as people often say I think
comes with a reason. Yeah. The result was a good outcome. Yeah.
Where can people find this book, Ben. And how can
people get in touch with you and find your book
and website?
S3 (27:01):
It's on one Bunbury on e b u and b
e r y o u.
S2 (27:06):
Well thank you Ben you for coming in and telling
us about this fabulous project and sharing your inspirational story,
and I really encourage people to go out and look
at Ben's website. It's a fabulous website that has some
beautiful content on it, and it's been really great to
meet you and talk with you today, Ben. Thanks again
for coming in.
S3 (27:26):
Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.
S2 (27:29):
Well, that's all we've got time for today. Thanks for
listening and thanks for joining us once again on Vision
Australia Radio. Look forward to speaking with you next time.
Bye for now.
S1 (27:41):
That concludes in Plain Sight for this week. Join us
at the same time next week on Vision Australia Radio,
VA radio digital and online at VA Radio.com. You can
also listen on demand by searching for In Plain Sight
by Vision Australia Radio. Wherever you get your podcasts, or
ask your smart device to play in Plain sight by
(28:03):
Vision Australia Radio. Thanks for listening.
S2 (28:06):
Thank you.
Hello and welcome to In Plain Sight, a program where
we highlight people who are making a positive impact in
the community and disability sector.
S2 (00:25):
Shining a light on those who would be otherwise hidden
in plain sight.
S1 (00:29):
And it's a pleasure to bring you these stories on
a weekly basis with you here on Vision Australia Radio.
How are you this week?
S2 (00:35):
Simon I'm great. Andrew. It's good to be here as
it is always. And how are you going?
S1 (00:40):
I'm really well this week. Um, yeah, very busy with
other things, but yeah, it's good to be busy and
good to be in the studio.
S2 (00:47):
It is. And today we are sort of somewhat following
the theme that we've had for a little while about books.
And this week, later on in with our interview guests,
we're going to be talking to a guy who has
created and compiled a book that is trying to enhance
a particular community. In this case, it was Bunbury. Before
(01:08):
we move on to the actual context of the interview
that's coming up later on, I wanted to talk about
the community that I'm involved with and have been involved
with for a long time, and that is part of
what we are doing here at Vision Australia Radio, which
is trying to develop and encourage people to be part
of their community. And the first thing I want to
talk about is that it's AGM season. Most businesses and
(01:32):
community organisations have their AGM and they come on around
about this time of year. And one particular organisation that
I've been involved with in the past that I'm not
directly involved with now, is an organisation called people with Disabilities,
Western Australia. And their AGM is coming up soon. And
can you tell us the dates and details of that
(01:53):
AGM please Andrew.
S1 (01:55):
Sure. It's coming up on the 12th of November and
it's taking place at the City West Lotterys House in
West Perth, and registration for that opens at 5:00 and
the meeting starts at 530. So you can just register
on the day. You don't have to pre-register. And the
meeting ends at 7:00. Short and sweet.
S2 (02:14):
Yes. To find out more about that, look up people
with disabilities Western Australia Online and contact Vanessa Jessett, who
is the Communications Officer there at PWD, to find out
how to be part of the AGM. And I really
encourage people to get involved with these kinds of organisations.
(02:35):
For those who don't know, PWD is Western Australia's leading
advocacy organisation for people with disabilities and it is a
very important and well regarded organisation that helps support people
with a disability in this state and at this time
in particular, it is very important to support those organisations
(03:00):
that help support us. And I say very important at
this time, because governments are not supporting these kinds of
organisations and with funding being so dire and money so tight.
It's really important that we who are interested in these
things get involved. If you think you can, please do.
(03:24):
It's a great way of contributing to our community, and
it's a great way of having your say and getting
involved and making a difference within the world in which
we live. And as I said, support the organisations that
support us. Also, whilst I'm talking about that one organisation
that is dear to my heart and a big part
(03:46):
of my life for many years, and is very close
to what we are trying to achieve here at Vision
Australia and Non Vision Australia. Radio in particular is an
organisation called Blind Citizens Western Australia BC and their AGM
is also coming up very soon. And do you have
the details for that Andrew.
S1 (04:05):
I do. It's Saturday, the 1st of November and it's
10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and that's taking place at visibility,
which is located in Victoria Park here in Perth.
S2 (04:16):
Again, please try to support these organisations. Blind citizens in
Western Australia do not get any funding at all from
any source. We sometimes do have projects that we get
funding from and I say we because I am part
of that organisation. I have been involved over many years
(04:38):
and we do great work in that. We support our
local community, that is people who are blind or visually impaired,
and we support them with advocacy, information and peer support.
That is, we try to encourage each other to be independent, strong,
being confident within themselves and having their vision impairment. Look
(05:01):
up blind citizens, Western Australia, find out more about them
and again, get involved. Be part of our broader community
and our disability and blindness community, and help contribute and
support those who are supporting us. Now, Andrew, what have
we got coming up this week on our interview? Focus.
S1 (05:20):
Our guest is Ben You. And he has produced this
remarkable book. And also there's an accompanying website, which is, um,
sort of a continuation from the book, as you'll find
out in the interview. So the book has been produced,
but that's not the end of the project, and it's
looking at 100 Bunbury community members. It's a really interesting
(05:41):
interview that you've done.
S2 (05:43):
I really want to highlight the nature of this project
is all about community and extending the community, and the
title of the book is One Bunbury, but it's one
community that we're all part of and we all participate in.
I hope you enjoy this interview, which is coming up
for you right now. Hi. Thanks for joining us once
(06:06):
again on In Plain Sight on Vision Australia Radio. It's
good to be with you. And today our guest is
a visual artist and a and photographer who has compiled
a book called One Bunbury, and his name is Ben You.
And he joins us in the studio now to talk
about his book and his project called One Bunbury. And
it's great pleasure to have Ben you in the studio
(06:28):
with us now. Hi, Ben. Welcome.
S3 (06:30):
Thank you so much for having me, Simon. And, um, yeah, very, um,
happy to be here to share the project.
S2 (06:35):
We should start with a little bit about what the
project is, and then we'll get to how you came
to be motivated to create the project. But firstly, tell
us about this beautiful photography book that you have compiled
here with some of your wonderful photos and what it's
all about, the book and the project one Bunbury.
S3 (06:57):
I'll get started with. You know how I got the
idea initially, because I have and I had another project
in the past called Yuriko. It was interviewing.
S2 (07:07):
Just say that again slowly.
S3 (07:08):
Sorry, I, I had, uh, project in the past. Similar
to this. It's called Yuriko. Um, that is interviewing people
and taking really creative photos because of all the creative
freedom I get to have. And I struggled with that
because I think I have this problem of reading. I
(07:29):
can't read more than a page or two. So I
struggled with writing that, so it got left behind. So then, um,
one day I thought, why not? I have a simplified
version to cater to everyone, including people like myself, to
just get the best out of it. So how I
got started is through, um, when I was diagnosed with
(07:50):
cancer five years ago and I first started, um, I
realized that when I was told that I have cancer, um,
I was a bit lost, um, searching for answers, uh,
through internet. And what I got was another question. It was,
why not you? So why not you? Um. Then I
tried to look at the stats and all that. The
(08:11):
answer I got was, why not you? And the stats
is maybe 1 in 5. 1 in 10 people around
you will get cancer. So I look at it in
a different perspective now instead of being, you know, sad
and angry and all that, I'm grateful that it wasn't,
you know, 1 in 5, 1 in 10. It means
it hits home. It could be your family. It could
(08:32):
be your parents, your kids, even who have not even lived,
started their life. So I'm grateful it was me. And
I went through it in another mindset, another perspective. So
why I'm sharing this is because sometimes a quote could
shift perspective, and sometimes it could inspire someone, or sometimes
even at the right time. Right place could save someone.
(08:53):
So a quote can be very powerful. And that's where
the inspiration came from for the book. Yeah.
S2 (08:59):
So the book is portrait photos that you've taken because
you're well established, beautiful photographer. And with each portrait photo,
you've got the subjects of the people who you took
the photo of to write a quote, an inspirational quote,
to go along with that. And there's 100 people from
Bunbury for those who aren't in Western Australia. Bunbury is
(09:21):
one of our largest rural cities, two hours drive south
of Perth. I am all about community and I like
what you've done here, Ben. That's why I wanted to
come in and talk to you, because you've helped with
this book and other things that you've done. Instil a
sense of community and pride in community, in a sense
of common purpose with this book.
S3 (09:42):
Precisely, yeah.
S2 (09:44):
So you just mentioned that you were diagnosed with cancer
about five years ago. Can you tell us what the
nature is of your cancer and where you are within
that process now?
S3 (09:54):
Yeah. Um, well, it was five years ago. And like
I've shared earlier, I'm very grateful and thankful it was me.
And then it cancer gave me clarity. All the noises
disappears from there. You know what is most important in life?
It wasn't money. It wasn't all that. So it gave
me clarity. So that's how I even came up with
this book. So how, given a second chance in life,
(10:15):
how can I give back and contribute now? I may
not have a lot of money to give everyone. So
what I have is my experience to share stories that
could inspire others. So it's a community inspired project.
S2 (10:27):
So, Ben, can you tell us what what's the nature
of your cancer diagnosis and what type of cancer was
it that you had five years ago?
S3 (10:35):
I'm not really good with names, but I think it's
nasal or something. It's a very technical.
S2 (10:40):
Where does that affect?
S3 (10:42):
It is in my head. So what happened was in
the past, my past life, I was traveling a lot
doing destination weddings. So I always on the plane. So
when the plane descends, your ear normally pops your eardrum
or pop, right? So, um, my eardrum did not pop
for for an hour, for a week, for a month,
up to three months. Then I thought, okay, maybe there's
a problem. So I went to see my ENT specialist.
(11:03):
They said, well, I can pop the eardrum for you,
put a grommet in to release the pressure that's stuck
in there that caused the pain. So, um, but I'm
curious because people of your men of your age normally
do not have the problem. Kids? Yes. So she said,
why not? I do a biopsy as I did that.
That's how she found the cancer in the first place. Um,
five years on, I was as of 2 or 3
(11:25):
weeks ago, I was diagnosed with cancer again. Apparently it's
the new cancer, but next to it. So it's the
same cancer as well. So now I'm going, um, planning actually,
as we speak yesterday, I was with my oncologist as well, um,
planning the treatment plan so everything could start, um, probably,
you know, 1 or 2 weeks time. Yeah.
S2 (11:44):
So you still literally in the midst of. Yeah, the
process of dealing with cancer. Yeah. I understand fully what
you're saying about not knowing and understanding the full technical terminologies.
At the end of the day, you just need to
know that you've got a cancer and it affected you
in a particular place within your body. And these are
(12:05):
the treatments. So what type of treatments have you had
to go through to help you with that?
S3 (12:10):
The last one was it was radiation and chemo this round.
I'm quite lucky because of my past experience, the moment
I felt, you know, you sort of know your body
enough to know if something is wrong. You may not
be able to pinpoint what that was, but I realized
that my ear is stuck again. But, you know, same ear.
But anyway, I'm curious. So my oncologist at first told
(12:33):
me that, oh, you're fine because something got, you know, missed.
And then my ENT found that nope, you actually have cancer.
So going back to that at the moment, as of today,
I'm stage one lucky. So meaning only radiation for now,
but surgery could be a backup. But because the doctor
(12:53):
said it's quite complicated in the head, we will try
to avoid surgery at all costs. That's the last resort.
And radiation. Sorry. Chemo may have to come in because
of the past. Cancer. It it ruined a lot of
what is in my head. My hearing got to be
a problem. My saliva glands and a few other things. Um,
if I'm going to hit you hard again, it's going
(13:14):
to be quite bad. So he need to reduce the
radiation amount, but probably got to bring in the chemo
to help balance that. And the chemo cannot hit too
hard as well. So they're trying because the second time
close to the same spot it's not really good. So
that is the plan at the moment. But as of
today I don't have confirmation yet. They're still discussing as
(13:35):
as as we speak. Yeah.
S2 (13:36):
Well, again, I really appreciate you coming in, especially under
those kinds of circumstances. And I fully appreciate and understand
the motivation for you creating and compiling this beautiful book. Um,
tell us about bringing these people together, the process of
finding these people, recruiting them for the for the project
(13:59):
and what what helped motivate them.
S3 (14:02):
I think at the beginning was a bit challenging because
I live in Banbury, but I'm not always there. I
was traveling a lot. I didn't know who the mayor
was that time because I don't really care. I just
do my work, you know, I just my clients are
all over everywhere, so. But because of cancer, I'm sort
of stuck at home. And then it's very humbling experience
to to, you know, it's like, okay, I'm grounded now.
(14:22):
I can't travel for a while, so why not look
at things within Banbury? So I reached out to a
few people at first, and some people may not even
agree with. Oh, I don't know about that. Maybe it works,
maybe it doesn't work. And I have even approached some
organization that they say, um, if I sort of contribute
to that, I would probably like to have some control.
(14:45):
So I said, no, no thank you. This is my project.
I like have the full creative freedom and focus on
the community. So going back to the question you just asked,
like how you know, what makes people want to be
a part of the book? Because I always share the
story that what this book is really about is not
about your face. It's not about all these things. It's about,
and I got people coming, but I don't deserve to
(15:07):
be in a book. You know? I'm not I'm not
a high profile person. Why? You know, I feel inferior
to be being a book. I said, it's not who
you are, it's what you've done. And those people who
fly under the radar who does a lot of good things,
that's what I'm after as well. And the people who
have done, you know, in, in the media as well.
But my focus here is it is not what you have, just,
(15:29):
you know, seen doing is what you can share from
your experience in your life, the message that you carry,
that when you go through the hardest time in your life.
What was the voice in your head that tells you
keep pushing it through. Now I'm after that. If you
share that that quote that. Because when when you think
you don't think of 500 words. I do this because
(15:50):
I don't know. There's a few words in your mind
could be from your parents, from your partner, or from
your grandparents or somewhere you pick up along the way.
You create. Yeah.
S2 (15:58):
I know that you asked your participants to contribute a
quote from their own personal life, not a famous quote
from a famous person and so on. Yeah. Um, I
did see a YouTube clip of you talking like a presentation. Yeah. Um,
and the I think it was the mayor of Bunbury
or some someone like that was so impressed and so
(16:18):
pleased that you, you did this project and helped bring
people together in the town of Bunbury.
S1 (16:26):
You're listening to In Plain Sight on Vision Australia Radio
with Simon Cheng and me, Andrew Williams. Our guest this
week is visual artist and photographer Ben Yu, whose project
One Bunbury takes the form of a beautiful book and
website profiling 100 Bunbury community members. And now it's back
to Simon and Ben. I read that you.
S2 (16:48):
Are originally from Malaysia.
S3 (16:50):
Yeah I am, yeah, yeah.
S2 (16:51):
And how long have you been living in Bunbury?
S3 (16:53):
Oh, the first time I arrived here, I think I
lost count 17 or 18 years ago. Okay, so it's
been a while. Yeah.
S2 (17:00):
How did you choose Bunbury?
S3 (17:02):
Well, okay. Back then, I was, uh, in from Kuala Lumpur. Um,
you know, the city that never sleeps and all that.
So I told my migration agent I was like, I
need a break. I probably share this short story with
you because, you know, I was doing this business in Malaysia,
I think around 15 staff and all that. I was ambitious,
I want to build, you know, big company. I want
(17:23):
to take over the world in a way. You know,
I was so ambitious and all that. Then I think
to myself, all right, if I do that and I
do this and I do that, the risk becomes higher
and higher. I got less time to spend with the
people I love most. And along the way, you know,
there will be politics, there will be things. And it's
so lonely at the top and finally, rich at the top.
There's no one around you with all the money in
(17:44):
the world but loneliness, what you have. And after that,
what would you do? You retire. Okay, you retire early.
What is the definition of retirement for me, I'm like,
I would buy a house by the beach and just relax.
I said, okay, why don't have a shortcut in this now?
Why don't I forgo the money and just go straight
to somewhere that is coastal, somewhere that is so city ish,
(18:08):
but not too quiet because coming from KL.
S2 (18:11):
Is.
S3 (18:12):
Busy, so a good balance there. So Banbury was selected
by me. I didn't, I didn't know where Banbury was.
I haven't even been to Western Australia. I've been to
Sydney and Adelaide, but I've never even been to Perth.
So when I migrated it was the first time and
I saw on the way down because I took a
train down, I was like, there's no building, it's just farms.
(18:33):
But because that's on the way down. So when I arrived,
it was a public holiday, I think. And again, I've
never been here and I've always been to big cities
with hustle and bustle. There's no train station is always
cabs and taxis and buses. I rock up nothing, just
one person standing next to me. It was quiet. There's
no bus, there's no taxi waiting. There was nothing like
(18:56):
the lady was there. I remember her, she said, you
need help. I was like, yeah, is there somewhere I
can call a taxi? He said, let me help you.
Call the taxi. For me. It was so quiet. It
was such a shock for me coming to Australia thinking
it's hustle and bustle. And even in Banbury I would
think there would be something. It was so quiet because
it was public holiday, I think I didn't know that. So, um,
so it took me, I think, two years to slow
(19:18):
down my mind to stop thinking about growth, but start
appreciating the space that we have.
S2 (19:25):
Yeah, I don't mean to put you under pressure, but
do you have maybe 2 or 3 people you can
tell us about within your book that made some kind
of impact.
S3 (19:32):
When I started interviewing, even like getting funding for this project,
you always think the people you know, the closest or
this is the one that helped you, I was wrong.
It's the people you least expect. They are strangers. I
walk up to this guy that I know him from
waiting years ago, and I just told him about the project.
He said, I'm going to put in money for you.
(19:54):
Are you sure you're a small business owner? You're going
to put this much money? He said, I believe in this.
And those I would still say I know him, but
he's still a stranger. When I approach people I know,
some of them say, um, I don't know about that.
So moving forward from there, the interview is the same
as well. Meaning, when you come with high profile people
sitting in front of you. Expect you learn the most.
(20:16):
The people I learn the most are the most down
to earth, under the radar guys and did work that
you know, not many talk about or speak about. But
having said that, I still got people who speak really,
you know, share a lot of things. I'm going to
share one with you. She's, um, she's from she's a
nougat person, uh, in Banbury. Um, and I don't know
(20:37):
her before then. Is she just was nominated and I
brought her in. It is not just a message that
she shared that day. It was also the voice and
the way she shared. A lot of times, what I
learned from her is that if someone is going through
tough times and grief and all that, we all trying
sometimes to be smart and say, would you like to
try this? Would you like to do that wrong? She said,
(20:59):
just sit with the person. You don't even need to
speak because they need space to accept and all that.
So just sit with that person and wait. It could
be half an hour. It could be one hour, it
could be more. But when you're ready to talk, then
you know she will start speaking. And the calmness in
her voice. That's why I'm so lucky I got a
video for that too is Karen Jetta. She is amazing.
(21:22):
So I carry that with me. I, I may not
remember everything she said, but I remember the expression that
she had was just silence. You walk with that person
when they're ready to walk with you. It's just just
be there. You don't even need to say a word.
Just be there. So that was good. And the other
(21:42):
one was, I think it was the constable or head
of police in Banbury then I can't remember. Um, Jeff Stewart,
you know, you would think that cops and police officers
and all that, you know, they, they, they do their
job because sometimes they just do their job to get
paid and all that. But he shared something very personal
with me and the community about how the community moved him.
(22:05):
He do it for the community. And he shared a
story about his daughter. Um, there was one time, um,
they found out the daughter's best friend died. I don't
know for what reason. And that night, he and his
wife discussed. Should we tell the daughter before it gets announced?
They didn't know what to do. So on the day
(22:27):
of the school. So he did not share? They did
not share. On the day of the school, when the
principal announced or someone announced that her best friend passed away,
Jeff Stewart was there. Um. And she said, why you
didn't tell me earlier? The disappointment on the face or
the sadness in the face was he he got a
bit emotional there. So that's where I felt, oh, you know,
(22:48):
that's something we learn as well, but not so much
on that message. But the passion, the sacrifice the police
officer have to make. I think that one that year,
I think seven police officers passed away or something.
S2 (23:01):
That sacrifice.
S3 (23:02):
The sacrifice that.
S2 (23:03):
He fought, not only, uh, person like a police officer makes,
but yeah, most of us need to make sacrifice and
compromise in everyday life, some more than others. Yeah. Um,
and also just to clarify, for those who don't know,
Noongar is the local Aboriginal people in the south west
of Western Australia, in Bunbury. Being in the south west
(23:25):
is probably the heartland area of the Noongar peoples. So
100 people contributed to this book, is that right?
S3 (23:33):
Yep. 100 interviews, 100 voices.
S2 (23:36):
And. And so you've also got a complimentary, uh, website.
And so it's, it's more than a book. It's a,
it's a living project.
S3 (23:43):
Yeah. It it is a platform and trying to create
for inspiration. So it's an ongoing, uh, project that keeps
moving and one of one of the part that the
ecosystem is trying to build around inspiration is to have
the book journey, where that's why I brought this book
as well. And, you know, and I do pass the
book around the world. I sent to a few countries
(24:05):
now to let people to add on to it. Now,
the 100 quotes is just the beginning that is printed.
It just It just started here. But what I'm trying
to do is to have 200, 300 quotes written, scribbled
on the book as it gets passed around, and hopefully
it gets passed to the person who needs it the most.
(24:25):
Looking and waiting for a sign. You may not. You
don't need to read every page, but sometimes you randomly
open a page and that spoke to you randomly. And
that's what I'm going to grow the book. It's not
meant to be, just that it's meant to be grow.
S2 (24:39):
Yeah, I do like that. It's a book and the
focus is more about the book. Yeah. And you have
a complimentary website that goes with it. Yeah, but a
physical book with these lovely photos, really well created portraits
of these people. Um, and like you say, you want
people who have the book in front of them to
use it for themselves. A bit like a journal, in
(25:02):
a sense. Yeah. And it's so much better to have
a physical document in front of you, rather than a
website that can come and go. It's a great, great thing.
I'm intrigued to with you said that some people within
your community helped, uh, to contribute financially and so forth
to because it's not cheap to create a book of
(25:22):
this nature. Yeah, that was that a tricky process?
S3 (25:25):
Oh, it was because I've never done this before. I'm
a photographer filmmaker. I've never authored a book or don't
know what needs to be done. So I don't know
if there's a process even to come up with this book.
You have this vision. They said, okay, I want this
book to look like this, feel like this and all that.
But when I met the printer, or you can't do this,
(25:46):
you can't print this. It's too fine. You. You can't
divorce this. You can't have this. It's just. No no
no no no. But I told him I don't blame you.
That's how it is in Perth. Because it was done
in Perth. Um, so I got to practice what I preach,
every challenges that gets thrown at me. It means I
get the opportunity to improve this. This book is not
meant to look like this. It was meant to look
(26:07):
like a design. Beautiful designer book, but it doesn't feel
community based.
S2 (26:14):
Yes.
S3 (26:14):
So because of the limitation of what they can't do
in terms of cover and the color of the paper
and all that which I selected, a particular paper said, no,
we only have this. It turned out because I redo
the cover alone, I think 15, 20 times, I redesigned
20 times, and each time they said, no, I improved this,
(26:35):
I said no. So at the end of the day,
you know, I like to look at perspective that they
rejected at first place or 15 times or 20 times,
so I can keep improving that. So it was a
challenge through design and the funding part as well. So yeah.
S2 (26:49):
So everything as often as people often say I think
comes with a reason. Yeah. The result was a good outcome. Yeah.
Where can people find this book, Ben. And how can
people get in touch with you and find your book
and website?
S3 (27:01):
It's on one Bunbury on e b u and b
e r y o u.
S2 (27:06):
Well thank you Ben you for coming in and telling
us about this fabulous project and sharing your inspirational story,
and I really encourage people to go out and look
at Ben's website. It's a fabulous website that has some
beautiful content on it, and it's been really great to
meet you and talk with you today, Ben. Thanks again
for coming in.
S3 (27:26):
Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.
S2 (27:29):
Well, that's all we've got time for today. Thanks for
listening and thanks for joining us once again on Vision
Australia Radio. Look forward to speaking with you next time.
Bye for now.
S1 (27:41):
That concludes in Plain Sight for this week. Join us
at the same time next week on Vision Australia Radio,
VA radio digital and online at VA Radio.com. You can
also listen on demand by searching for In Plain Sight
by Vision Australia Radio. Wherever you get your podcasts, or
ask your smart device to play in Plain sight by
(28:03):
Vision Australia Radio. Thanks for listening.
S2 (28:06):
Thank you.
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