Walking around Queens, I found the objects/fragments below that I considered to have either an ambiguous or obvious figure/ground relationship.

1. Ambiguous
2. Obvious
3. Ambiguous

We live in a world of tidiness. Homes are tidy, the people in the homes are tidy, the streets surrounding are gleaming. The year is 2030, and the trash and recycling bins they’ve placed on all the corners are finally doing their jobs. When we walk down the streets there’s no litter or marks in sight… Until we come across this estranged stain on a particular corner of a particular street. They must have missed a spot. Or maybe they left it there because it was too difficult to remove.4. Obvious

I’ve lived here for two seasons of spring and the purple plastic remains. The leaves sprout and inevitably fall off again, and still it stays, as if it’s a neighborhood resident too. No matter the weather it’s frayed limbs catch the air. It’s color is bright and cheery but it’s current state makes it dark and dreary.5. Ambiguous 6. Obvious