Lena Reif

Lena Reif is a billing made of two short words and nothing else. There is no pun folded into it, no doubled letter, no adjective doing the work of a warning. Reif happens to be a German word as well as a surname, and it means ripe, or mature, or ready, depending on how it is used. Most of the audience will never hear that second meaning, which is exactly why it is worth pointing out: the name carries a small private resonance under a flat public surface. The record uses one spelling throughout and attaches no alias to it.

The photograph is a full body frame taken at eye level on a pale floor. She sits with her legs open in a wide V and her hands loose beside her knees, leaning slightly forward. The white shirt is unbuttoned and pushed back off both shoulders, so the breasts are bare, and the dark red skirt is gathered at the waist with the pubic area left uncovered. One red and white sneaker is still on. Her hair is long and wavy, parted down the middle; the eyes are light blue and hold the lens without blinking.