One of the most innovative and influential designers of the 19th century, Dresser dabbled in ceramic, textile glass and metal, working with some of Britain’s most important manufacturers of the time. Designing with a modernist spirit and inspired by Japanese aesthetic and craft, Dresser experimented with cutting-edge technologies (such as electroplating, to create a metal coating on his objects) creating pieces that were functional and democratic.
‘Dresser had such a huge influence — when he was alive but also after. His trip to Japan is one of the reasons why the Japanese aesthetic had such a transformational effect on design in the late 19th century,’ observes Humphries.
‘It was “Japonism" that was the major influence on the Art Nouveau movement of the early 20th century. And a lot of that leads back to Dresser. I wanted to make a show about the metal, because that’s so proto-modernist. The metal is so ahead of its time – and designers still reference it. I’m obsessed with Dresser because he did so many different things – he was a botanist, an educator, a Japanophile, a polymath, and a genius. This show and the film focus on just a small part of his work, but a hugely important part.’ §