Rex

Selected by TIME LightBox as a Best Photobook of 2016

Winner of the Pictures of the Year International 2016 Best Photography Book award

"Zackary Canepari’s photobook Rex wades into a fully formed set of preconceived notions and stereotypes about what life is like in a place like Flint. . . . The most unexpected thing about Canepari’s visual narrative is that he never really cues the Rocky theme music. . . . What we’re offered isn’t entirely that empowering and inspirational athletic fable, but the personal nuances of her relationships, before, during, and particularly after her unlikely rise from obscurity. For those that wonder where narrative has gone in contemporary photography, Rex is a superlative example of genuinely gut-wrenching personal storytelling. Depending on your perspective, the photobook is both empathetically uplifting and unbearably discouraging and sad, and that duality means it ultimately offers no easy solutions. It gives the weary tragedies of Flint (and places like it) a profoundly human face, without overlooking the steely resilience of those laboring to overcome its trials." ―Collector Daily

"[Rex] did not disappoint. This book is storytelling at its best, a story of victory and triumph. Zackary's ability to immerse you into a place is incredible." ―TIME LightBox

"Like all the best boxing stories, a new book about the only American ever to win two golds at the Olympics for the sport isn’t really about boxing. Zackary Canepari has followed Claressa 'T-Rex' Shields for years on her inspiring journey from her hometown of Flint, Michigan, to Olympic success." ―The Guardian US

"I like the book, and thought the gold cover was a terrific touch, as it alludes to the gold medal at the metaphorical heart of the story. Claressa and Briana are two sisters, living in the same water-poisoned town, living lives on separate trajectories. . . . I applaud Mr. Canepari for having the guts to go tell a story he found fascinating. Clearly, the sisters embraced him in their lives, and want their story shared with others." ―A Photo Editor

The setting is Flint, Michigan, a town infamous for poverty and crime. At the center of this story are two sisters. Claressa is older than Briana by eighteen months. Like most people in Flint, the two girls grew up tough: their dad was in jail for the first half of their lives and their mother battles with substance abuse. In a sad sense, a typical Flint upbringing―except for one difference. When she was eleven, Claressa went to the local boxing gym and started training. Nine years later, she is the first woman to win the Gold Medal in Women’s Boxing at the Olympics. Now Claressa is twenty and is training to go back to the Olympics in 2016. She is moving away from Flint to focus on her career. On the other hand, Briana is stuck in Flint and trouble just finds her: fights, drugs, sex. She never finished high school and is raising her two-year old son while his father is in jail. But Briana is no martyr―she’s tough, charismatic, and street-wise. Claressa is also the subject of an accompanying feature documentary called T-Rex.

Zackary Canepari is an independent photographer and filmmaker. In 2010, Zackary teamed with filmmaker Drea Cooper and launched California is a Place, a documentary film series about California which screened at a number of international festivals including Sundance and IDFA. Their feature documentary T-Rex premiered at SXSW and was featured on PBS in 2016. Currently, Zackary is working in Flint, Michigan on an interactive web series called Flint is a Place, which has earned him a fellowship with the Guggenheim Foundation.