But these are not simple paintings. These are elaborate, luminous, dense paintings laden with demographic information conveyed through text, sophisticated color-coded systems, and more subtly through allusion, sly references, and suggestions to familiar cultural touchstones. By using the map as a constant, Mills poses questions about life in the U.S. and plugs-in variable sets of data responses to visually represent a country and society in flux.
—Kristina Durocher, “Libery and Justice for All?" essay, Dan Mills, Human Topographies Exhibition Guide, 2019-20
