Umbilical Walk – Performance


Artists: January Yoon Cho (Visual Artist) as Mother Earth & Georgina Bates (Movement Artist) as a life force.

Duration: 5 minutes

Note: Originally designed for stage with The Desert Walk projection; adaptable to various spatial requirements.

Umbilical Walk is a live movement performance conceived by interdisciplinary artist January Yoon Cho and performed by two mother artists: Cho as Mother Earth and movement artist Georgina Bates as life force. Created through a mother-to-mother collaboration, Umbilical Walk uses the umbilical cord as a visual and performative symbol of connection. The performance examines humanity’s relationship with Mother Earth by tracing the flow of life force through movement. Gestures articulate growth, decay, and renewal, reflecting the full cycle of life and the interdependence of living systems.

Derived from Cho’s photographic work, We Have Traveled Afar from the Desert Walk Series (photo: bottom of the page), the performance emphasizes rhythm, relational movement, and energy, inviting audiences to consider how human life is entwined with broader ecological networks.

Umbilical Walk live performance has been presented at:
– Climate Imaginarium, Governors Island, New York. Performed along with Umbilical Walk film projection.
– LIC Arts Open Film Festival, Secret Theatre, Long Island City, New York. Performed along with The Desert Walk film projection.
– reEarthed -> reRooted exhibition, Art at First Gallery, First Presbyterian Church, New York, New York. Performed along with The Desert Walk film projection.
– Address Earth exhibition, El Barrio’s Artspace, New York, New York.

• Desert Walk Video Projection (accompanied):
https://vimeo.com/1096019645?share=copy


Premier live performance at the opening reception of Address Earth exhibition, El Barrio’s Artspace, New York, New York. October 2025.

Live performance at the closing reception of reEarthed -> reRooted exhibition, Art at First Gallery, First Presbyterian Church, New York, New York. February 2025.


January Yoon Cho, We Have Traveled Afar, 24″ x 36″, Archival Pigment Inkjet Print, Ed. 3 | Artist’s walk performance during a desert sandstorm in Death Valley, California.