As a Sudeten German Jew, Helen Lewis was originally sent to Terezin Concentration Camp on the outskirts of Prague in 1942 before being transferred to Auschwitz in 1944. In July 1944 she was transferred from Auschwitz to Stutthof concentration camp to work as a slave labourer before being taken on a death march in January 1945 as the Soviet forces advanced.

After surviving the Second World War, Helen settled in Belfast where she worked as a choreographer and her experiences are recorded in her autobiography, A Time to Speak.

Nicholl knew Helen personally and has undertook her journey from Terezin to Auschwitz and has produced a number of exhibitions dedicated to her including, My Name is Might Have Been at the Northern Ireland War Memorial in 2017.

All the paintings have the names of various concentration camps and death camps printed on them using lead type face. Below is a selection of the pieces from the collection.