Premiere: See the next piece in Twin Haus' artistic interpretations for their upcoming EP

Brisbane-based indie quartet Twin Haus have a new four-track EP on the way, and as part of the release the group have commissioned four original artworks for each single from artists all over the world. The first, by Tel Aviv-born, London-based artist Yuli Serfaty, has already been premiered via the good folks at TheMusic.com.au (take a squiz HERE), while the second, by Melbourne-based artist Adrianna Mammino was premiered by Control Zine (HERE). Today we're excited to unveil the next piece by Brisbane-based artist Sophie Hopkins. 'I Used to Think' is limited to 10 editions and comes mounted on Ivory Gallery Mat, and you can pre-order it with the EP, Nothing Lavish, HERE. The EP is out March 22, and they're launching it April 1 at Wooly Mammoth in Brisbane (event details HERE).

Check it out, along with a preview of the track and a few questions with Sophie, below:

Where did you grow up and where are you based at the moment?

My family moved around a fair bit when I was a kid. I’ve lived in Melbourne and Canberra but I feel like I spent my formative years in Bundaberg because all I can remember of my childhood is being surrounded by sugar cane, toads and suspicious country folk.

Please describe a typical day?

A typical day of my life is a wild ride of sleeping as much as possible, working night shifts, eating cheap frozen budget meals that are probably eroding my internal organs, going for a low resistance and hill-free walk to give the illusion of exercise without the effort, watching crime documentaries which is kind of educational because I’m studying forensic psychology, and then I spend the wee hours of the morning drawing stupid comics and posting them on my blog.

What mediums do you use? Do you like to use many or do tend to use the same tools again and again?

I’ve been drawing since I was old enough to hold crayons so I’ve done a few different mediums over the years. I used to paint lots of oil and acrylic pieces on canvas, then I did charcoal and had an obsessive ink phase before getting into digital art which is definitely what I prefer. But I still go back and forth between digital and traditional and find each informs the other in terms of new techniques and improvement.

Can you tell us about the piece you have designed for the Twin Haus track, how it came together, what you drew from the song for inspiration?

I wish I could speak really articulately about the profound thought process and introspective nature of the piece but honestly I listened to I Used to Think and immediately thought “this is the kind of chill song I would listen to after killing a man” like winding down after an evening of illegal activity. I love Twin Haus’ work and many of their tunes always remind me of late nights for some reason. I Used to Think certainly reminded me of coming home after a night out and you’ve been around loud and annoying people for too long and you’re trying to find that quiet place again. I just took it that extra step further and thought of a witchy kind of girl unwinding after what she’d consider a wild night out which may or may not have involved crime.

Where do the ideas for your work normally come from? Is there a particular time or place in your life that seems to generate a lot of your ideas?

It’s going to sound like clichéd wank but a lot of my ideas come from just being kind of a spacey scatterbrained kid growing up. I think I’ve spent too much time living more in my head imagining ridiculous scenarios and characters to keep myself entertained. I think that was a product of not being very cool and not having many friends growing up and needing other ways to stay happy... cue the mini violins. But I find most of my work is inspired by and focused on characters and their internal worlds, which is why I mostly draw comics. You can really get into the petty, nitpicky frustrations and concerns of people through the detail comics allow as opposed to single piece artworks which usually only depict a much larger subjective theme. Any medium that allows me to subject others my obnoxious opinions in detail is what inspires my work basically is what I’m trying to say.

What have you been listening to lately? Is music something you listen to while working?

I’ve been listening to a lot of really awful pop music from the late 90s and early 00s like Christina Milian and Stacie Orrico because I think I’ve become incredibly bitter and jaded in my mid-20s and the cheesiness takes the edge off. Though I don’t usually listen to music when I draw, I usually watch movies and it’s become a fun sort of process because I can look back at a comic or piece I’ve drawn from a year ago and remember exactly which movie and which scene I was watching when drawing a certain part. Like I might be drawing a smutty anime comic and also remembering the moving final scene in Gladiator at the same time and the associations can get weird.

What is something new you have noticed or learned recently?

I’m always learning something new and growing with my artwork, it’s definitely a subconscious process because you won’t notice your improvement until you look back at something you drew months ago and have that “oh god I can’t even look at this, how did I ever think this piece of trash was good?” moment. Though posting my work on a public opinion free-for-all like the internet has seriously helped me learn to accept criticism and accept that people will just outright hate you no matter how hard you try to cater to everyone’s tastes.

What was the best piece of advice you have ever received?

The best piece of advice I’ve ever received was from my dad when we were both drunk and watching Batman Begins and he told me if I was going to aspire to be anything in life it should be a bat.

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You can follow Sophie's tumblr HERE, and follow Twin Haus on FACEBOOK to keep up to speed with future releases.