Figure-Ground Relationship

According to this principle, we tend to segment our visual world into figure and ground.

Figure is the object or person that is the focus of the visual field, while the ground is the background.

As the figure below shows, our perception can vary tremendously, depending on what is perceived as figure and what is perceived as ground. Presumably, our ability to interpret sensory information depends on what we label as figure and what we label as ground in any particular case.

An illustration shows two identical black face-like shapes that face towards one another, and one white vase-like shape that occupies all of the space in between them. Depending on which part of the illustration is focused on, either the black shapes or the white shape may appear to be the object of the illustration, leaving the other(s) perceived as negative space.

The concept of figure-ground relationship explains why this image can be perceived either as a vase or as a pair of faces.