This original gouache, entitled Usine—“Factory”—was created in France during the political and social upheaval of May 1968. Through an economical black-and-white composition, the unidentified artist presents the factory as a powerful symbol of industrial authority and its consequences for workers, society and the natural world. The lower half of the composition is occupied by a dark industrial building with angular sawtooth roofs and a towering chimney. Smoke rises from the structure and forms a cloud above it, where a distressed bird appears to tumble through the polluted air. Its damaged wings and falling droplets create a striking contrast with the rigid geometry of the factory below. The bird may be interpreted as a symbol of freedom, life or nature threatened by an impersonal industrial system. By placing this fragile creature directly within the factory’s smoke, the artist transforms a simple visual encounter into a broader critique of pollution, exploitation and the human cost of unchecked industrial power. Factories became central to the events of May 1968 as millions of French workers joined the nationwide general strike and occupied their workplaces. Alongside the student demonstrations, these industrial actions challenged established hierarchies and raised fundamental questions concerning working conditions, collective ownership and the organisation of modern society. Executed by hand in black gouache on paper, this is a unique original artwork rather than an example from a printed edition. Its spontaneous brushwork, uncompromising imagery and surviving period folds and tape marks preserve the immediacy of May 68, making it a compelling acquisition for collectors of French political art, industrial imagery and twentieth-century protest graphics. Gouache May 68 - Politics Good condition, traces of scotch
