"Utopian Punk": The Concept of the Utopian in the Creative Practice of Bjork (Essay‪)‬

ABSTRACT This article is an attempt to firstly locate and situate the creative practice of Bjork in the cultural and musical milieu of late 1970s, early 1980s punk and post-punk world. It traces the impacts, relevancies and typifications that were a part of this milieu and describes their affect on the development of Bjork's work. Secondly it suggests that this particular cultural practice worked through notions of the utopian that were and are imbued within processes of cultural hybridity and evolved through a globalized travelogue that was always a transitory moment of unification in different locations and situations. This analysis attempts to give a sense of how the utopian can be actualized momentarily in 'pirate spaces' but also how a body of knowledge and practical work can be developed and turned into 'lifeworld' practice by these continued engagements. The article utilizes and develops ideas from Schutz, Deleuze and Guattari, Bloch, Levitas and Durrschmidt.