The 86 — Nicki McCubbing

The 86 by artist Nicki McCubbing captures the quirkiness and uniqueness of the renowned Liverpool bus route. It celebrates the beauty found in everyday interactions and the glimmers of humanity we experience through community connection. Through our PICTON PLAY projects, we are emphasising the importance of listening, connecting, and reflecting the shared human experience, and creating art that reflects our community.

The 86 was developed during an artist residency on the number 86 bus, a route from Smithdown Road to the city centre through our local neighbourhood. Nicki has captured conversations, moments of laughter, sadness, and confusion over her 3-month ‘Listening’ residency. The project captures the diverse passengers with love and humour, emphasising that ‘ordinary people see themselves in art’ and focusing on the small gestures and snippets of conversations that reflect the mixture of individuals that experience that strange mix of feeling both together and lonely on public transport.

PICTON PLAY is part of Culture Liverpool’s Creative Neighbourhoods programme with Liverpool City Council. Thank you to Asda, Friends at Botanic Park and Arriva for partnerships that supported our Listening Residencies.