As I Remember Them Primaire Funksje: Generative Keunst by Bowen Shen

As I Remember Them Primaire Funksje: Generative Keunst by Bowen Shen is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award yn Brûns in Generatyf, Algoritmysk, Parametrysk en AI-stipe Ûntwerp Competition Category.

BrûnsGeneratyf· 2026

As I Remember Them Primaire Funksje: Generative Keunst

by Bowen Shen

Client: Bowen Shen

A' Design Award yn Brûns Winner in Generatyf Category

11,969

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #176660

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About As I Remember Them Primaire Funksje: Generative Keunst

Boektekst: Dizze rige fan generative keunst byldet deistige bernetiidmominten ôf troch AI-stipe byldmakkerij. It wurk rjochtet him op tafrielen lykas it skoalpoazjee, stille simmermiddeis thús, en nijjiersfieringen, ûntliend oan de belibbe ûnderfining yn Noard-Sina. Makke troch begelaat promptjen en hânmjittige fisuele bewurking, jout de rige foarrang oan realisme wylst subtile fisuele ûnregelmjittichheden tastien wurde dy't werjouwe hoe't ûnthâld gefoel bewarret yn stee fan krekte detail.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award yn Brûns

As I Remember Them Primaire Funksje: Generative Keunst is in winner fan de A' Design Award yn Brûns, in heech prestisjeuze erkenning foar treflike ûntwerpen dy't har ûnderskiede troch kreativiteit, fernuft en tûkens. Brûnswinners binne tige feardige en opfallend kreative artefakten dy't de grutte ûnderfining, ferbylding en betochtsumens fan har ûntwerpers befêstigje. Fan As I Remember Them Primaire Funksje: Generative Keunst wurdt ferwachte dat it in tige heech achte, bewûndere en dierber objekt is dat opmerklik profesjoneel en ynnovatyf is. Dit winnende ûntwerp fan de A' Design Award yn Brûns yntegrearret de bêste praktiken yn keunst, wittenskip, ûntwerp en technology en is treflik om syn omtinken foar detail. As I Remember Them Primaire Funksje: Generative Keunst foldocht behoeften prachtich, reitsjet winsken, betsjoeveret gefoelens en sprekt nijsgjirrigens oan.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: As I Remember Them is a generative art series that visualizes fragments of memory, emotion, and longing. It is an attempt to reconstruct the past through the lens of imagination.
Dimensions & Packaging: 1856 x 2464px image series
Tags: Generative AI art, Nostalgia, Childhood memories, Northern China, Visual storytelling, MidJourney, Photoshop, Digital art
Production Technology: This series was created with MidJourney, using iterative prompting and reference-based descriptions to shape culturally specific scenes. Outputs were then refined in Photoshop through compositing, retouching, and color adjustments, ensuring the final work aligned with my artistic vision and emotional intent.
Design Challenge: The greatest challenge was translating personal, culturally specific memories into AI-generated images. MidJourney lacked context for the textures of Northern Chinese life, requiring me to break scenes into elements, source references, and iteratively refine prompts. Balancing realism with the quirks of AI output, and deciding when to embrace its distortions, was both the obstacle and the creative breakthrough.
Research: Process documentation: https://bit.ly/49OvkvG

Type of Research: Practice-based creative research.
Research Objectives: To explore how AI can represent personal and culturally specific memories.
Methodology: Iterative visual experimentation and technical study.
Data Collection and Tools: Memory recall, curated reference images, MidJourney style parameters, prompting techniques, Photoshop.
Participants or Experiments: Repeated prompt and image generation cycles.
Results: Increased control over style, detail, and emotional accuracy.
Insights and Impacts: Structured prompting reduces emotional flatness in AI art.
Real Life Effects: Encourages more human-centered AI use in design and visual storytelling.
Inspiration: Bothered by how often GenAI outputs felt soulless, the project set out to render a deeply soulful subject, the emotional landscape of childhood.

I grew up in Northern China, in a hometown changed by time and distance. Through prompting, storytelling, and hands-on editing, I recreated scenes that linger in me: recess, summer solitude, New Year warmth, while embracing GenAI quirks that reflect how memory distorts and softens.
Project Duration: The project was created virtually over the span of one month in January 2025.
Operation Flow: The generative art is experienced through sequential viewing. Each image presents a self-contained moment, allowing viewers to pause, observe, and form personal associations. The series encourages slow viewing rather than interaction through controls, inviting audiences to connect individual scenes to their own memories and emotional experiences.