Helpless – Barry™

Acrylic on Canvas, 4’H x 5’W

The sky is calm, the colors rich, the brushwork deliberate—yet within the beauty of this scene lies an unsettling reality. Superman, mid-flight, left arm cutting through the air with purpose, right arm burdened with groceries. Diapers, tampons, toilet paper, milk—the most critical of essentials—too important for those waiting at home to be abandoned, even in a moment of crisis.

Behind him, the Twin Towers burn, struck by unstoppable forces. Lady Liberty stands in the foreground, witnessing the unfolding devastation, her presence haunting yet silent. Superman is powerless. The invincible hero—the one who should be able to stop it all—cannot drop the weight of responsibility he already carries.

It is oddly beautiful, yet deeply unsettling. Serene, yet paralyzing. The painting speaks not only to the helplessness of that day but to the burden of duty, obligation, and the cruel realization that even the strongest among us cannot be everywhere at once.

A military veteran once told Barry™ that Helpless encapsulated his own experience. He had to serve. He had to fight. But he, too, felt powerless to stop it from happening.

Art that speaks to history will always invite reactions. But history itself is rarely kind, and neither is truth.