Blinky

In the novella Blinky The Friendly Hen 1978 artist Jeffrey Vallance documented the supermarket purchase of a frozen chicken and its burial in the Los Angeles SPCA Pet Memorial Park Naming the fryer Blinky Vallance transformed poultry into pet paying tribute to the billions of hens sacrificed each year for our consumption Ten years later questions of the true cause of Blinkys death continue to swirl Blinky the videotape documents the search for this cause Alas like the shroud of Turin Blinkys death cannot be completely resolved Blinkys tenyear story ends where it began in our cultures glistening dreamlike symbol of heavenly closure the supermarket