BLOG | Book captures the quirkiness and uniqueness of the 86 bus
What do you get if you cross an artist-in-residence with the 86 bus? A relatable, heart-warming and humorous collection of observations and conversations that celebrate the beauty found in everyday interactions. Author Nicki McCubbing explains …
From November 2023 to April 2024 as part of a ‘Listening’ residency with Metal, I sat (and stood) on the 86 bus recording what I heard, saw and smelt on my notes section on my phone. I also took photos through the windows and inside the bus on my phone. This was an ideal residency for me. I love watching people, eavesdropping and collecting stories for my own enjoyment and sometimes I make art out of it. I decided to write very succinct notes, inspired by Sophie Calle’s True Stories, to reflect the fleeting exchanges we have with strangers whilst on the bus. Metal’s idea for this project was to get to know the people in the Picton area and the best way to do this is to listen. To sit and really listen and notice all the small details was harder than I originally thought. Like most other passengers I was so used to zoning out, looking at my phone, or looking out of the window thinking of all the things I had to do.
The 86 has been my bus route between the city centre and my different homes for over 25 years. As I’ve grown older, my relationship to the bus has changed. I was a student myself when I first rode the 86. Now I am old enough to be the students’ mum. I have seen many things in those years on the 86 including a girl’s hair being set on fire, several fights and an old woman flashing the bus by lifting up her skirt. As I started this listening residency though, I realised that the smaller observations like people’s clothes and conversations and what was in their bags were what formed a more rounded picture of this community.
The bus route is unique in Liverpool as it includes so many different areas and people – different ages, from different places with different concerns, beliefs and experiences – all riding together on the same bus. It is important that ordinary people see themselves in art and I have tried to capture the many people riding on this bus with love and humour. Riding the bus has this strange mix of being together and separate which can often create its own unique type of poetic sadness.
It was hard to know when to stop collecting these observations as there was always a new insight and I started to find beauty and value in almost every journey. I rode the bus during the day and night and eventually I had more than 200 notes and 300 photos which I then had to piece together. I chose to illustrate a variety of people who were representative of the area, all remaining anonymous. Sometimes I wrote notes about how I felt on the bus too. I feel like the observations on their own often reveal quite a lot about me in the fact that I have noticed them, maybe other people would notice something completely different. Everybody’s experience is different because we are all different.
I’m really thrilled with the final book – I feel it captures the bus route during this specific point in time. It is small and can fit in a pocket, perfect for carrying on the bus. I hope that readers will find the book humorous and recognise some elements of themselves in the writing and how they too, encounter people. I would like readers to see that we are constantly around strangers all going through all different experiences that we don’t know about and that there can be intrigue, beauty and humour in the everyday, even on the bus.