With the rise in industrial capitalism during the 20th Century, artists increasingly focused on the threat of a disappearing natural world. In the high technology era of the late 20th Century, artists whose practice is termed 'ecological' based their work around new understandings of the relationship between nature and culture, fundamentally underpinned by a shift toward evolutionary, systems-theoretical perspectives from those of conquest and exploitation. Now, at the dawn of the 21st Century, the information era has brought into intersection the discourses of information technologies, quantum physics, and biological science, awakening artists to the challenge of engaging with ecology as the primary subject of their practice. The doctoral project that is the subject of this exegesis focuses critical attention on our scientific and aesthetic understandings of water - a crucial symbolic element of global import in survival. It explores the representation of water in and through art practice that is informed by political ecological awareness and new (digital) technologies. My practice exploits the potential of recent digital technologies to create experiences that aim to encourage a more ecologically sustainable human engagement with nature through this focus on water. This exegesis describes and locates the creative work within an ongoing discourse in contemporary culture that actively seeks to re-establish and redefine the relationship between culture and nature.

No / In this chapter, augmented space is described as the layering of media technologies onto the physical space of the city. The approach assesses salient aspects of the experience of space in everyday life, the city and urban space more generally. The chapter discusses these in relation to the deployment of augmenting technologies and modes of display associated with augmented reality, new and digital media: visual or otherwise. Selected work, carried out in relation to culture, leisure and tourism is assessed. These case studies indicate the potential of augmented reality in areas of a) urban design, b) tourism and heritage, and c) the promotion of cycling for health and the creation of alternative transport infrastructure. The main characteristics of AR and augmented space are presented. This is followed by a discussion and development of hybrid research tools and applied in two case studies with a view to providing a potential roadmap for future work in this area.