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I’m in a Thrupple (2016-)

I’m in a Thrupple is a series of photos and text for which I create tableaux using plastic toys namely, an Action Man called Nat, and a Ken doll of the same name. I use these toys to create scenarios commenting on a 21st-century love triangle, gender, sexuality and identity.

The work relies on humour, artifice and play to fabricate imagined scenarios that critique human relationships in ways that are not possible using ‘real’ humans. Over time, more characters have been added to the collection as I acquire and are given further dolls, which now include another Action Man and a singing Sindy-type doll.

I originally posted the work on Facebook and have collated comments from the audience which are also included in some of the captions. This series is ongoing and will eventually be made into a self-published book.

Please view the images by clicking on one of them and scrolling through as a gallery.

BIG DILEMMA: Nat wants to have a Facebook page so he can comment on the posts I make. I can't understand why he wants to do this as we see each other regularly, so why comment? For me? Well, just talk to me or call me. For others? Ahhh, that's the shopwindow relationship, you need an observer to make sure it exists. I am worried. Will Nat watch my every move? Will he get upset if I don't make him central to my FB narrative? Ken, on the other hand, is more preoccupied with himself, so we have not had the same discussion. Will I have to set up a secret account to communicate with my friends, who are finding my joined-at-the-hip status a little troubling. What would you do? And if you see that I have replaced my profile photo or background photo with one of US, please bring me back to my senses.
THE CLOTHES DONORS: After many months of undress, I received this photo from my mum. She is concerned that my plastic fantastic boyfriends will freeze. Indeed, the only clothes that they have are their birthday suits. These gun-toting hommes’ vests are unattachable as they are moulded to the wearer, but the trousers? Watch this space. I have a feeling they will fit the right one.
WARNING: This photo may not be suitable for adults or children. The clothes arrived in the post with two, new, square-jawed men. They have removable trousers, but one of them also has a gun attached to his arm. Is this a Darwinian survival of the fittest genetic aberration or a case of selection? They are American GIs and both men support the NRA and the right to bear arms. At this point, the only arms I care about are the fleshy ones. Nat has no hands or fingers, so what’s he going to do with a gun? He’s more interested in saving than shooting. Ken is simply uninterested. Then, just now, I found one of the new recruits like this... sans trousers and in a state of self mutilation. What happened? I can only speculate. Until I know what to do, I have separated all of them. (to be continued)RH: Sounds like chaos MG: It is! RH: Too much testosterone perhaps? MG: That hormone is produced by the gonads and I’ve yet to see anything on either Nat or Ken that looks remotely like them so far. But I will make a closer inspection soon. SLB: Think they deserve a holiday! MG: Good suggestion, I do too. Oh my, it’s going to be a long haul. DMcCC: All his toes are joined together - is he from Norfolk? MG: Ohhh, I have no idea, Mum said he spoke with an American accent but maybe it was a ruse! Oct 30, 2017
SELF LOVE: Ken is self fixated. He never takes photos of himself. Why should he when everyone else does? He can't understand why anyone, even famous people, need to do it when there are others willing to do it for you. Indeed, Ken is so absorbed in the appreciation of his own image that he has no inclination or time to take selfies.
NAT & KEN GO CAMPING IN THE WINE REGION: Part 1 the holiday proved to be challenging as my two plastic men have very different requirements and tendencies. Perhaps driving on the other side of the road and then camping was too big a leap for a first holiday. Ken can't drive so Nat did all the driving and had to contend with Ken's confusion with French Sat Nav. Then there were the testosterone-fuelled trucks and white vans that tailgated him for kilometres. However, after 1000kms across southern France we ended up in a beautiful campsite perched on a rocky outcrop in a wine-growing region. The only potential drawback was that it is aimed at families and couples. We are neither and our Mange a Tois (sic) didn't go unnoticed. Here are a few snaps from our trip in chronological order. More to come.
SELFIE LOVE: Nat is insecure. He has to take photos of himself, after all, if he didn't, who would? He has learnt that to exist in Cyberland he needs to be highly visible and seen to be doing lots of interesting things. Nat also understands that in the unwritten rules of Selfie Etiquette there is, often, a tenuous public/private divide. Some actions are not for Selfie recording. Smiling (check); Eating (check); Drinking (check); Climbing (check); Defecating and peeing (uncheck).
NAT & KEN PONDER THE MASCULINE: Strictly speaking, both my hommes have no qualms about who or what they are, and how they feel. Indeed, while we were away Nat tried to explain the difference between gender and sex to Ken. 'Sex (nature) happens between the legs,' Nat told him. 'While gender (nurture) happens between the ears.' Ken looked confused. Later, on our trip to the market in Pezanas, I found Nat and Ken highlighting these differences. We caused quite a stir, as you can imagine, but the shopping trip put us all in a great Mange (sic) a Trois mood!
NAT & KEN VISIT LE FROGGY LAC: Part 2. While Nat took to the water, swimming and surfing in his seaweed swimwear (fashioned and styled by the naturist-loving designer MsBeeBee), Ken stretched his long lean limbs, topped up his all-over tan and gazed at himself in the sea. We are three Nat, Ken & me Living the Dream (as some say, but it may well become a nightmare). Tomorrow we will post photos from our A La Plancha evening meal hosted by F&P, a most amusing and hospitable couple. How European we have become speaking Franglais and Spanglish! To be cont.
NAT & KEN A LA PLANCHA EVENING: Part 3. The evening meal with F&P proved to be a bonding experience thanks to a couple of bottles of French wine. Ken fashioned Nat a stylish beret cut from the foil capsule, and declared that Nat now looked "tres chic". We ate, laughed and conversed in Franglais with F&P. Then Ken and Nat got hold of the last bottle of wine and Oh la la! to be cont.
JH: A spot of karaoke? MG: Yes ;-) Red red wine. AT: In vino veritas......
THE VICTORY: After separating the men (while I investigated the GI invasion) I woke up to discover a further tableaux. Nat and Ken have secured a former POW. Nat is now wearing the self-mutilating GI’s trousers and boots; Ken is still nude and the GIs have disappeared. To top it all, I found the pair of them in the kitchen, triumphant, carrying a half-sized, one-legged man called Jim, whose severed leg is safely in Ken’s hands.