Intermediality beyond synchronisation: Text as a compositional agent in electroacoustic audiovisual performance

This paper examines how text can operate as an intermedial compositional agent in electroacoustic audiovisual performance. Through a focused practice-based case study of a single performance – F2 – in which electroacoustic sound, procedural visuals and projected and spoken text unfold without synchronisation or audio-reactive coupling between the sonic and visual layers, the study considers text not as a thematic focus but as a structuring element that shapes perceptual meaning-making within this configuration. Using Michel Chion’s concept of added value, the article argues that textual narration can amplify and reframe the perception of sonic and visual materials without relying on synchronisation or audio-reactive correspondence. Qualitative audience responses indicate that text functions as an interpretive anchor, guiding attention, emotional orientation and coherence within an otherwise unsynchronised audiovisual environment. On this basis, the paper proposes a triangular added-value model in which text functions as the primary directional mediator; text semantically anchors sonic intensity, metaphorically reframes visual abstraction and enables sound and image to be perceived as jointly significant despite their structural independence. The study contributes a practice-based perspective on how text can be integrated into electroacoustic audiovisual composition to expand approaches to form, perception and artistic communication in contemporary new media performance.