Salt In The Wounds | home, the coast and a teenage self

Tom Stockley grew up in Torquay. It’s a complicated relationship which is revisited the short film Salt In The Wounds. We chatted about the film, the coast and struggling to fit in

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D&CFilm: Tell us about Salt In The Wounds – why did you decide to explore your relationship with Torquay in film?

Tom Stockley: Salt In The Wounds is a love letter to my home, my teenage self and the people who live their lives on the coast unnoticed and unheard. I spent the first lockdown back in my childhood home on the edge of a council estate in Torquay and went through a process of reconnecting with myself and the place that made me. I started reflecting on the beauty of the landscape and the sea, but also of the sadness that I was always aware of growing up – the poverty, the loneliness and the struggle to work out who I was in a place that didn’t understand me. I noticed parallels between the hidden worlds of coastal towns (the council estates, the littered beaches, the empty fairgrounds) and how it felt to be a teenager grappling with their identity as a queer person and struggling with their mental health. I wanted to challenge the preconceptions people have about life by the seaside, but also to celebrate its beauty in a more truthful way – life in Torquay, for me, was not about postcard scenes and sandcastles.

D&CFilm: Where you’re from can elicit strong emotions – and your poem A Town Called Torquay outlines plenty of them. Do you have a love / hate relationship with Torquay?

I think if we were in a Facebook relationship I would say it’s complicated. As a teenager struggling to fit in, and as a youth and community worker who’s seen some of the drastic hardships that people in my community face, I can’t pretend that Torquay is a paradise. What I can do is try and talk about it truthfully, to face my past as the person I am today and find some peace with the streets and seas that raised me.

D&CFilm: How did the character T.S. Idiot come about, and what’s their role in Salt In The Wounds?

Tom Stockley: I’m a big fan of punk, in all its forms. I’ve always wanted to be a musician so when I started performing poetry at gigs it made sense to me to take a stage name like some of my heroes – Poly Styrene, Rat Scabies, Attila The Stockbroker and Auntie Pus all have these visceral, clever names that capture the punk spirit. My stage name was invented a few years ago by a friend at the pub – it’s a nod to T.S. Eliot as well as a way of me embracing the fact that I’ve felt like an outsider and an idiot for most of my life.

T.S. Idiot has given me a name to build my performances on – he can be angry, confident and in your face in a way that I can’t as just Tom. I’m actually quite introspective and gentle as a person, and I think when making Salt In The Wounds I’ve been more honest about that. The lines between the real me and T.S. Idiot are a little more blurred.

D&CFilm: How did you make Salt In The Wounds, and how would you describe your visual and filmmaking style?

Tom Stockley: I was really lucky to be able to work with Benjamin Leggett – an old friend who’s now a professional film-maker. We grew up in South Devon making amateur music videos and short films, so it was nice to come full circle all these years later. I approach most of my work as an artist and a poet, focusing on the broader themes and then working on the specifics from there – working with Ben as well as support from Exeter Phoenix has really helped me to translate my ideas to the screen. Salt In The Wounds is, at its heart, a poem – it’s just been attached to a collection of small scenes and images that provide a vessel for the words.

D&CFilm: What do you think is the role of the filmmaker / artist in society?

Tom Stockley: I think we’ve seen, over the last couple of years, an increasing need for connection and conversation. I see my work as an artist as being very similar to what I do as a community worker – I connect people, we tell stories about our communities and we share ideas.

If you look throughout history there’s always been a role for someone to tell stories and document the life of those around them, and I think we’re just part of that legacy. Cave painters, tribal shamens, town criers and modern artists are all doing the same job across different eras and cultures. I also think that we need to be constantly challenging how we make art, and remember that it’s for everyone!

Artists aren’t more important than anyone else, it’s the diverse experiences of the world around us that gives art life.

D&CFilm: What does the coast mean to you?

Tom Stockley: Through making this film, I realised that the coast and the sea are pretty integral parts of who I am. I’ve realised now that I need to jump in the sea a few times a year to reset and reconnect.

Although it still reminds me of that sadness I felt growing up, I’ve learned to appreciate its beauty and its vastness. There’s something about being in the sea or on the coast that gives you perspective, places you in this world as one very small but still significant dot.

D&CFilm: Salt In The Wounds is part of a larger body of work – how does the film intersect with the live performance, photography and publication?

Tom Stockley: The project began life as a poem, scribbles about what the sea meant to me. This turned into a live performance with Fringe Theatre Festival in June 2021, and an edited version that you hear as part of the film.

I also wanted to hear from other people living on the coast who might share my experience – people who have felt out of place for one reason or another – especially those in the LGBTQ+ community. I spent a week at Fish Factory Arts exploring these ideas with photography, workshops, live events and a publication (Ready Salted) that captured the diversity of life by the sea.

You can see some of the work here: https://tomstockley.weebly.com/salt-in-the-wounds-when-i-consider-how-my-light-is-spent.html

D&CFilm: And where does Salt In The Wounds fit into your practice? Does it mark a move into more films or was it a response to a changing creative environment?

Tom Stockley: Although I’ve made short films before, Salt In The Wounds challenged me to develop my ideas and techniques and make something for the big screen that I hope will really speak to people and spark conversations about home, mental health and identity. This year will see me continuing to write for film and theatre, experimenting with how my ideas come to life and reach an audience.

The lack of live gigs over Covid-19 has fundamentally changed how I work – although not without its challenges, it’s allowed me to slow down, reflect and consider how and why I make my work. I hope you’ll be seeing more films in the future.

D&CFilm: Where can we find and keep up with your work?

Tom Stockley: All my work, from poetry and films to sketchbooks and music are on my website. It’s an archive of my work over the years, and documents how it interconnects and progresses. You can also follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for updates about new projects and upcoming events. If you want to work with me or talk about your own ideas, feel free to email me!

Website: https://tomstockley.weebly.com/

Instagram and Twitter: @tstheidiot

Facebook: https://facebook.com/tstheidiot

Email: t.stockley@hotmail.co.uk

D&CFilm: Thank you!

Salt In The Wounds by Tom Stockley is a Micro Short Film Commission from the Exeter Phoenix.
It will premiere at Two Short Nights on Friday, February 4