Eileen O’Connor,

D. Circa 1850.

The Gold Rush Era. Eileen was heading west to make a new life when she met her end at a desert outpost. After she died, the station workers found a wedding dress among her belongings. They buried her in the small cemetery at Vallacito Station in that very dress. Eileen is better known as “The Lady in White of Vallecito” and is said to still wander station grounds.

Stricken (Lady Lost):

Mixed media art by Wren Polansky. The art features the disembodied engagement hand of a young woman holding a wilting flower. The flower represents her lost opportunity to bloom. The young woman is the broken bird and the distant bird can be seen as her waiting husband or the family members she left behind.

Watch the video, Eileen in the Desert, by clicking the image.

A little back story on this project:

Dancer Erica Ruse, her husband and their two young children took a weekend journey to the Ruse family property in Imperial County to film Erica embodying the story of this young woman. In some ways it feels full circle; a wife and mother performing the role of a young bride forever in limbo.

Victorian (Im)Migration:

“This piece is inspired by the brave journey that young Ms. O’Conner made to a new land.  Like many Europeans coming to America in the 1800s, monarchs are known for their ability to make transatlantic crossings. Folklore claims that spotting a monarch indicates a need to make a life change.  They are symbols of rebirth and transformation.  The monarchs in this image are turning away from the fresh rose and toward many other blossoms in the field, indicative of Ms. O’Conner’s demise before starting her new life in a new land. “ -Artist Wren Polansky

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