Between 1969 and 1972, the Supports/Surfaces movement occupied a central position on the French art scene. Its artists sought to deconstruct painting, explore new formal possibilities, and challenge the traditional status of the artwork and the institution by making art more accessible to everyone.

It was within this climate of openness to new ideas and artistic practices that IMPACT II was organized in 1972, following the same principle as IMPACT I, which had been held at the same venue a few years earlier.

Three figures—Jean Clair, then editor-in-chief of the journal L'Art Vivant, together with Jacques Lepage and Hervé Fischer—selected more than forty artists to participate in the exhibition. Among them were Christian Jaccard, Noël Dolla, Hervé Fischer, Annette Messager, and GRATALOUP, who exhibited works from his Irish Sea series.