Porfirio Mendes (b. 1967) is a construction worker, turned artist by accident.
During breaks between occasional work, he dedicated his time to building the house where he lives, in the town of Palme (Barcelos). Once the project was completed, he started using his diverse skills by building small stone mills with complex mechanical systems that worked like real ones.
After having captured the attention of his neighbors, he quickly reached a wider audience, which allowed him to see in this activity a second source of income. He then started to use all his free time to create the most diverse sculptures, reproducing on a reduced scale buildings such as churches, watermills or granaries, in addition to the aforementioned windmills. Likewise, he was building functional objects in wrought iron, such as tables, chairs or weathervanes. Between 2001 and 2003, he sold these types of works to those who passed by his house.