Eleanor Buffam

Swimming Between Normalities
36 cm x 46 cm
Acrylic and oil on canvas

Private collection, London

76cm x 55cm

Acrylic and oil on canvas

This painting is part of my Symbiont series, portraits of friends merging with trees. The Symbionts are inspired by the cracks in the pavement where trees take root, in the decay and rebirth of the world. They emphasize our interconnectedness with the other living things that make up our planet, and highlight the decisions we need to make if we are to survive as a species. In our post-industrial world we’ve lost our connection to the Earth- but today many people are looking to re-establish this connection. Green burials, having trees planted on your grave or having your ashes fertilize a tree, are an ancient concept that is newly popular; people today are interested in becoming trees after their death.

Wana is portrayed merging with a London Plane tree. One will grow upon the ruins of the others. The past and the future occur simultaneously. The London Plane Tree, a hybrid of the American sycamore and Oriental plane trees, is a popular urban tree due to its compact root structure. Its bark has the amazing ability to absorb atmospheric pollution. The characteristic mottled patterns of its bark are due to oversaturated pieces of bark shedding so that the tree can continue to breathe. The tree is ubiquitous in London and is seen by some as symbolic of the city.

46 x 51 cm

Acrylic and oil on linen

Acrylic and oil on canvas

76cm x 55cm

This painting is part of my Symbiont series, portraits of friends merging with trees. The Symbionts are inspired by the cracks in the pavement where trees take root, in the decay and rebirth of the world. They emphasize our interconnectedness with the other living things that make up our planet, and highlight the decisions we need to make if we are to survive as a species. In our post-industrial world we’ve lost our connection to the Earth- but today many people are looking to re-establish this connection. Green burials, having trees planted on your grave or having your ashes fertilize a tree, are an ancient concept that is newly popular; people today are interested in becoming trees after their death.

Ilaria is portrayed merging with a yew tree. One will grow upon the ruins of another. The past and the future occur simultaneously. Yew trees are signifiers of immortality. They are some of the oldest organisms on the planet. It’s not possible to date them exactly due to their rotting on the inside and growing out from themselves, but it is thought that the oldest ones in Britain are at least 4,000 years old, and possibly much older. They were revered by the Celts, who associated them with immortality, regeneration, rebirth and transformation. They are one of the most toxic plants around- just breathing their dust in can be fatal- and yet they are life-saving- taxol, a powerful anti-cancer drug, has been made from a compound found in their bark.

55 x 76 cm

acrylic and oil on canvas.

This painting is part of my Symbiont series, portraits of friends merging with trees. The Symbionts are inspired by the cracks in the pavement where trees take root, in the decay and rebirth of the world. They emphasize our interconnectedness with the other living things that make up our planet, and highlight the decisions we need to make if we are to survive as a species. In our post-industrial world we’ve lost our connection to the Earth- but today many people are looking to re-establish this connection. Green burials, having trees planted on your grave or having your ashes fertilize a tree, are an ancient concept that is newly popular; people today are interested in becoming trees after their death.

This painting portrays Tilly merging with a yew forest. One will grow upon the ruins of another. The past and the future occur simultaneously. Yew trees are signifiers of immortality. They are some of the oldest organisms on the planet. It’s not possible to date them exactly due to their rotting on the inside and growing out from themselves, but it is thought that the oldest ones in Britain are at least 4,000 years old, and possibly much older. They were revered by the Celts, who associated them with immortality, regeneration, rebirth and transformation. They are one of the most toxic plants around- just breathing their dust in can be fatal- and yet they are life-saving- taxol, a powerful anti-cancer drug, has been made from a compound found in their bark.

acrylic and oil on canvas

55 cm x 76 cm.

This painting is part of my Symbiont series, portraits of friends merging with trees. The Symbionts are inspired by the cracks in the pavement where trees take root, in the decay and rebirth of the world. They emphasize our interconnectedness with the other living things that make up our planet, and highlight the decisions we need to make if we are to survive as a species. In our post-industrial world we’ve lost our connection to the Earth- but today many people are looking to re-establish this connection. Green burials, having trees planted on your grave or having your ashes fertilize a tree, are an ancient concept that is newly popular; people today are interested in becoming trees after their death.

Frances is portrayed merging with a yew tree. One will grow upon the ruins of another. The past and the future occur simultaneously. Yew trees are signifiers of immortality. They are some of the oldest organisms on the planet. It’s not possible to date them exactly due to their rotting on the inside and growing out from themselves, but it is thought that the oldest ones in Britain are at least 4,000 years old, and possibly much older. They were revered by the Celts, who associated them with immortality, regeneration, rebirth and transformation. They are one of the most toxic plants around- just breathing their dust in can be fatal- and yet they are life-saving- taxol, a powerful anti-cancer drug, has been made from a compound found in their bark.

Oil on canvas, 85 x 125 cm

75 x 125 cm

Oil on canvas

Diptych: each 76 x 55 cm

Acrylic and oil on canvas