For Representation Purpose Only with Priyesh Gothwal

Priyesh Gothwal brings a reading performance to Carnegie Music Hall on Saturday, October 31, as part of the 59th Carnegie International. The piece is titled For Representation Purpose Only, and it centers on food packaging and labeling regulations in India—rules meant to provide a faithful representation of what's inside a packet, but which often leave plenty of room for interpretation.

During the performance, Gothwal works alongside the audience to analyze and guess what's inside a closed food packet. He breaks it down through the three forms of representation regulated on food packaging: the image, the text, and the symbol. Each section treats the packet as a site where the representation stands in for the thing itself, and the whole thing asks whether a regulated representation can ever be truly faithful to what it represents.

Gothwal's work is published in the exhibition catalogue, and he was featured in the 59th Carnegie International. He'll also be featured in the 2026 Pittsburgh Art Book Fair, so this reading is one of a few ways his work is appearing across the city this season.

The performance runs from 12:15 to 12:45 PM, and it's free—museum admission isn't required.