Alminha: An Ode to Lost Souls – Maria Constanza Ferreira

Alminha: An Ode to Lost Souls

is an augmented reality installation that reimagines the small shrines found on and along the roadsides of Portugal. These spaces, simultaneously public and intimate, are dedicated to souls in purgatory, lost in transit or suspended between worlds. They are sacred, everyday altars that serve as devotional spaces where the living offer prayers, light candles and leave flowers, characterised as liminal places between life, death and the landscape.

Rooted in Catholic doctrine, they raise questions: what defines a lost soul? Can it be saved or guided? As spaces of domestic devotion, they imply a spiritual “cleansing”. Traditionally cared for by women, they involve gestures such as cleaning, placing flowers and lighting candles — similar to cemetery maintenance rituals.

This installation inserts a ‘digital alminha’ into Porto’s landscape. More than an object of veneration, ‘Alminha: An Ode to Lost Souls’ is a digital memento mori, a poetic pause that reflects on loss, migration, displacement and spirituality in contemporary cities. An altar and a tomb for no one in particular, but for everyone. A light lit by the living to guide all those who are navigating in the dark.

Team: Jack Gray – 3D Artist / Gonçalo de Jesus – AR Support

Acknowledgements from the artist: Beatriz Costa, Constança Pupo Cardoso, Maria Fátima Martins Oliveira, Sarah Turchin.

Fotografia: Renato Cruz Santos