Shane Porter

Overview

Shane is the Course Director of the BDes (Hons) Design (Product, Ceramics, Silversmithing and Jewellery), Lecturer in Design (Product) and PhD researcher at the Belfast School of Art, Ulster University. He holds an MA in Ceramics & Glass from the Royal College of Art (2015), a BA (Hons) in Fine and Applied Art from Ulster University (2010), and a PGCEFE from Ulster University (2021). He is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

Shane’s design practice investigates themes of space and memory. Working primarily with ceramics alongside materials such as glass and found objects, his work explores the tension between fragility and permanence, evoking tactile and affective connections to place and experience. His works are held in several private collections, including the permanent collection of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

His PhD research, A Skin to Worship Him In - The Phenomenology of the Leatherman, explores the transformation from man to Leatherman within the liminal leather space, a threshold where the erotic, affective, and masculine intersect. The project examines how leather functions as a material and ritual medium of becoming, shaping queer masculinities through embodied practice, sensual encounter, and lived experience. As a practice-based study, the research integrates theoretical inquiry with studio methodologies of ritual deconstruction, using the dismantling and reconfiguration of worn leather gear to interrogate the affective, erotic, and transcendent dimensions of material experience.