This practice-based thesis is an interrogation of ‘being’, one not centred on the human being. It concerns a being that manifests through dynamic inter-relation between human and other entities and phenomena in the universe. It considers several interrelated questions, interrogating notions of 'relational being','non-anthropocentric being', 'the being of a space', ‘the space of being’. Ultimately, one is considering the implications of relational being for ‘deep ecology’. With regard ‘relational being’, key inter-related Buddhist ideas drive the thinking and practice: ‘relational origination’ (pratityasamutpada), and ‘emptiness’(shunyata). Furthermore at the heart of this particular history of technology is a discussion of the significance of zero. The Sanskrit term shunya, means both ‘zero’ and ‘empty’, and relates to shunyata. There are several principal objectives. Firstly an analysis of perceived relational dynamics in Ellora’s rock-cut architecture, technology, and ontology. Secondly, scrutiny of apparent correspondence between Ellora’s Edifice Twenty-Nine and a contemporary Tantric shrine: the Water Temple, constructed in 1991. Thirdly, an examination of ideas in contemporary science and technology that engender reconsiderations of notions of ‘relational being’. The primary practical outcomes are two films: relationship-place naka-ma and zero = every day? Both approach the question through phenomenological process, paralleling Ando’s conception of ‘architecture’ as an integrated and inter-acting entity of built edifice, wider landscape, and the spectatorship of persons who frequent it. This research engenders ‘new knowledge’ in terms of: offering pluralistic, trans-national and trans-disciplinary insight on current thinking relating to art, architecture, technology, spectatorship, and ontological practice; evolving knowledge with regard interactions between body, humanly constructed entities, wider environments/ecologies; engendering new perspectives on considerations of cyberspace, Ellora, Ando, and the Water Temple; contributing to a counter thesis vis-à-vis the colonial project of objectification and ossification of the other.

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This thesis describes attempts by the researcher as reflective practitioner to communicate the experience of time and evaluate the effectiveness of the attempts. The qualitative research obtained visual data gathered by unstructured, field observation from a fixed point in the landscape. This data was used in the production of artwork that was shown to a group of participants, all from the same accessible source. The communicative power of the artwork was tested using a series of open interviews, unstructured group discussions and collaborative experimental workshops. The most significant contribution of this research is to the role that fine art plays as a visual code and the question of whether, as a shared language, it is an effective means of communicating such things as experience. The research recognises and addresses three main problems: identifying temporal perception, identifying the shared language and improving the shared language. Major findings include: i. `change' confirmed by the test participants as the means best suited to conveying the experience of time. ii. a diversity of understanding, as explored in the literature review, demonstrates that no single perspective on time can be adopted iii. the expectations of the viewers played a significant role in recognising the shared language and, therefore, in the interpretation of the works of art. iv. even a limited art education expanded the test participants' shared visual language which greatly influences these expectations. v. overwhelmingly representational artwork, together with the traditional means of presentation and formats were the preferred means of communication for the test participants; any deviation from this norm only served to obscure the message and confuse the viewers, thereby necessitating additional information. As well as the responses of interview and workshop participants the visual codes developed in the researcher's art practice are also discussed. All the conclusions are intended as general suggestions, specific to the confines of this research and are not intended as rules generally applicable to the entire field of fine art. Suggestions for future research are also given at the end of the thesis.

This practice-led research considers the ways in which the emphasis of flesh and skin in figurative ceramic artworks can be understood, discussed and demonstrated in terms of aesthetic properties. It examines theoretical discourse related to the concept of expression in art and applies selected theories and principles to the evaluation of the work of contemporary artists engaging with the figure. Understandings of key principles and properties arising from these studies are applied, tested and evaluated through a studio-based investigation, within the researcher's personal art practice. The project was undertaken through interdependent strands of theory and practical studio-based investigation, comprising: a literature search and field study to identify, review and evaluate existing material; the examination of key theories and debates related to expression in art; an examination of aesthetic properties in the work of selected artists, through the conduct of case studies; and the undertaking of studio-based trials to give form to, and to test and evaluate, the principles and properties identified in the theory and case study strands. Findings from the project support the philosophical assertion that figurative artwork exists within a common bodily frame of reference, thus enabling a shared understanding of its properties. Results from the studio-based trials demonstrate how particular perceptual relationships can be created or developed to achieve specific aesthetic properties that are expressive of particular bodily states or experiences. This research has developed and examined modes of ceramic figuration which manipulate the interaction between expression, representation, surface, and form to create a range of aesthetic properties that evoke sensations of flesh and skin. The study as a whole, being an integration of theory, fieldwork and practice, demonstrates how specific qualities and emotions within a range of figurative artworks might be effectively articulated, and also demonstrates the appropriateness of the medium of ceramics to achieve this.

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The post-Byzantine Art was not only one of the most important artistic movements of Greece, but it was also a period in which serious and decisive changes took place. The most important change was the change of the materials and techniques; from egg yolk to drying oil and from panel paintings on wood to easel paintings on canvas. A series of a hundred and twenty one panel paintings, representative samples of this period (late 15th century up to the early 19th century) and from the work of the most important artists, who represent this period but who also contributed to the evolution of the later pictorial art were studied in the current research. Trying to find evidence of time and location for changes in practice between Constantinople, Greece and Venice, two hundred and one samples were collected from Crete, Athens Thessaloniki, Cephalonia, Zakynthos and Patmos. The aim was to provide timellocation data slices concerning the creation of the artwork~nd to identify the materials present in order to be able to detect any possible changes to the technique. The research proved to be quite a complicated task, not only due to the nature of the materials studied, but also due to the limited samples and sample quantity available. A multi-method approach was employed in order to characterise the artists' materials. The analytical means with which the investigation was carried out were: Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis, .Fourier Transform Infrared Microscopy and Gas Chromatography. Additionally,· other.two techniques were used to offer complementary information wherever necessary: Raman microscopy and staining of cross-sections. Pure binding media, as well as emulsions were detected, while the nature of the selected pigments was identified. The artistic changes that took place in the postByzantine of painting did record on the techniques available. It is obvious that while in the Byzantine art the main binder is egg yolk, immediately after the formation of the post-Byzantine School egg/oil emulsion and drying oil are introduced. In the 16th century there seems to be a rise in the use of drying oils, either in the form of an additive layer over a proteinaceous one or in the form of a single layer binder. The 17th century establishes the use of emulsions, until the 18th century where the. use of drying oils prevails. This unexpected sequence of changes was repeated through all the schools studied, it seems reproducible through each series of samples and is not being influenced by other considerations. The results of this research led to one main conclusion: Western Europe did affect the icon painters. It gave them the examples and the materials for them to free themselves and move on to more contemporary styles. Only a fraction of the data obtained has 'been published. The results of this study may have thrown some light onto this dark transitional period of the Hellenic art, but as research never ends, new questions have been born, for scientists to answer.

The purpose of this thesis is to enrich understanding of historical photography, especially anthropological uses of the medium, by drawing upon the substantial collection of anthropological photographs taken in the Andaman Islands between 1858 and 1906. The Andamanese, then perceived as the missing link between animal ahd human history, gained special attention in early British anthropology. Photography from the Andamans during this period, therefore, played a significant role in the development of early British anthropology, and in turn, the Andamans became an important site for experimentation in anthropological photographic techniques, Le. composite, anthropometric and standardised methods. This thesis explores the history of photography and anthropology in the context of the colonisation of the Andamans, and the conditions of possibility that produced particular photographic techniques. The production of the Andaman photographs was subject to the discourses of nineteenth century anthropology and scientific positivism as much as it was to the processes, styles, limitations and etiquette of nineteenth century photography. By offering a reassessment of the interlinking of the photographic medium with nineteenth century anthropological practices, this thesis comments on the nature of photography and suggests new ways of understanding historical photography as a whole. The final part of the thesis moves beyond the nineteenth century to consider the Andaman photographs as an archival collection, exploring the affectivity of the photographs in relation to contemporary aesthetic values. It analyses the possible spaces they might occupy in their' contemporary existence within exhibitionary complexes, independent of their original historical meanings and uses.

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