As I Remember Them Ubuciko Obuzakhayo by Bowen Shen

As I Remember Them Ubuciko Obuzakhayo by Bowen Shen is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Umklomelo Webhulonzi we-A' Design Award in Okuzenzakalelayo Competition Category.

IbhulonziOkuzenzakalelayo· 2026

As I Remember Them Ubuciko Obuzakhayo

by Bowen Shen

Client: Bowen Shen

Umklomelo Webhulonzi we-A' Design Award Winner in Okuzenzakalelayo 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 Ubuciko Obuzakhayo

Lolu chungechunge lobuciko obuzakhayo luveza izehlakalo zansuku zonke zobuntwana ngokwenza izithombe ngosizo lobuhlakani bokwenziwa. Lo msebenzi ugxile ezigcawini ezifana nesikhathi sokuphumula esikoleni, izinsuku zasentwasahlobo ezithulile ekhaya, kanye nemigubho yoNyaka Omusha, ezithathwe ekuphileni okwenziwayo eNyakatho yeShayina. Yenziwe ngokuqondisa imiyalo nokuhlela imibono ngezandla, lolu chungechunge lubeka phambili ubuqiniso kuyilapho luvumela ukungahambisani okuncane kokubonakalayo okukhombisa indlela inkumbulo egcina ngayo umuzwa kunemininingwane eqondile.

The Recognition

About the Umklomelo Webhulonzi we-A' Design Award

As I Remember Them Ubuciko Obuzakhayo iwinile uMklomelo Webhulonzi we-A' Design Award, ukwaziswa okuhloniphekile kakhulu okunikezwa imiklamo ephawulekayo eyehlukaniswa ukudala, ubuhlakani nobukhali bengqondo. Abawinile beBhulonzi yimisebenzi enobuchule obukhulu nedala ngokumangalisayo eqinisekisa isipiliyoni esibanzi, umcabango nobuhlakani babaklami babo. As I Remember Them Ubuciko Obuzakhayo ilindeleke ukuba ibe yinto exatshwa kakhulu, edunyiswayo nethandwayo, enobungcweti obuphawulekayo nezinto ezintsha. Lo mklamo owinile uMklomelo Webhulonzi we-A' Design Award uhlanganisa izindlela ezinhle kakhulu ebuciko, esayensi, ekuklameni nasebuchwepheshe futhi uhamba phambili ngenxa yokunaka kwawo imininingwane. As I Remember Them Ubuciko Obuzakhayo iyanelisa izidingo ngokumangalisayo, ithinta izifiso, iheha imizwa futhi ikhanga ukufuna ukwazi.

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.