▲ The opening celebration performance of the exhibition 'Jeong-Byeong Mountain Druid ’

▲ ‘CITY TREKKING’ exhibition by the artist Seol Dong-ju

▲ The exterior of Rogue Camp, located at the back gate of Changwon National University

Rogue Camp is an alternative space located in front of the back gate of Changwon National University. The alternative space is a small non-profit managed by artists for artists. The alternative space is not for-profit commercial space such as many art museums and galleries. The purpose of the alternative space is to display experimental works that are not accepted by the Artists Association. Before Rogue Camp was established, there was another alternative space for young artists called ‘Maroo’. However, its closure in 2017 meant that Changwon no longer had an alternative space. So, the graduates of Changwon National University's art department decided to create another alternative space in Changwon. Artists Jang Gun-yul, Bang Sang-hwan and Park Joon-woo established a new alternative space called "Rogue Camp" in 2017. Rogue Camp is the name of the first base camp in the game ‘Diablo’ Like Rogue Camp in the game, the name ' Rogue Camp' was chosen with the hope that artists would create an environment that served as a ‘base camp’ to hold activities and to communicate and share with other artists.

In the alternative space, artists can display their artwork free of charge. In some cases, guest artists who come from afar may be paid to exhibit their art. For the first two years, the three founding artists spent their own money to cover all the expenses of Rouge Camp. Jang Gun-yul, Bang Sang-hwan and Park Joon-woo were responsible for the remodeling cost of the existing office space, monthly rent, and maintenance expenses. During the day, Rogue Camp’s artists worked as artists and then would go to work part-time jobs at night. It would not be an alternative space if it received admission fees from customers or if it sold artwork like a gallery. Rogue Camp has been successfully running for three years, working hard to provide an alternative space for all kinds of artists. Fortunately, Changwon City has been supporting Rogue Camp since last year. Also, with the addition of new Rogue Camp team members, managing the space’s operation is getting better.

The opening exhibition of Rogue Camp was ‘Jeong-Byeong Mountain Druid’ by the artist Lee Sa-ram. 'Jeong-Byeong Mountain Druid' is based on the motif of a story in which humans change into animals. The artist Lee said, "People turn into tigers, and tigers become Jeong-Byeong mountain rocks. Dragons and horses fought and became the road and trees of Yong-ma Mountain and made my hometown Changwon. As Changwon has many historical scars, there are many folktales that our grandmothers and grandfathers have told us. So, ‘Jeong-Byeong Mountain Druid’ is about the painful history of Changwon, about people, nature, legends, and reality." Afterward, the space continued to hold exhibitions of experimental artists who were unable to have an opportunity to exhibit in other places due to a ‘lack of commerciality’. The experimental artists continued their exhibition without the care of others' perspectives or opinions. Regardless of genre or background, Rogue Camp continued to hold exhibitions of work from artists, video artists, and photographers.

Illustrator Seol Dong-ju is one of the most prominent artists to exhibit their work at Rogue Camp. The artist Seol Dong-ju was inspired by his travels to cities in various countries. Based on those experiences, Seol Dong-ju created pen art drawings that expressed space, people, and objects that were encountered through traveling. The title of the exhibition was ‘CITY TREKKING’ This exhibition had artwork depicting scenes from Australia, Japan, and Seoul. Original framed drawings were hung on display alongside dozens of works scanned from a Moleskine sketchbook. The artworks depicted the cities in a very realistic style. Seol Dong-ju participated in a Cheong Wa Dae exhibition named ‘Welcome Spring’. The exhibition was held at the Sarangchae of Cheong Wa Dae where he presented his pen-drawing artwork with a focus on inter-Korean peace.

Rogue Camp usually holds an exhibition once a month. The exhibition is held for one to two weeks, and the opening exhibition starts at 7 p.m. The exhibition times vary with each artist, and viewing times are announced through the Rouge Camp Instagram account. To promote the exhibition, posters of the upcoming exhibition are put up in several cafes around Changwon. This year, one exhibition will be shown each month until the end of the year. Several exhibitions have been canceled this year because of COVID-19. Starting in June, the exhibitions will resume with basic quarantine regulations in place, including mandatory masks, hand sanitizer, and preparing a visitor list. Recently, Rogue Camp has been connecting and working with alternative spaces in other regions. At the end of June, an alternative space called 'Treasure Island' in Gyeongsan, Gyeongsangbuk-do, is scheduled to do an exchange exhibition with Rogue Camp. Many alternative spaces have already been established in Busan and Seoul. Jang Geon-Yul, a manager of Rogue Camp said, "Many alternative spaces are being established nationwide where artists can show their work in contests or galleries, so I hope to establish a lot of alternative spaces in Changwon."

By Seo Seong-il, reporter  qlvmfl99@naver.com

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