Having sex for the first time is a very big moment for most people; whether you're racked with nerves or overcome with passion, whether it all goes smoothly or it's a bit of a (ahem) bumpy ride, it may be different for everybody, but losing your virginity is usually a very deeply personal experience.
"I've held on to my virginity for 19 years and I'm not throwing it away lightly."
Which is something that art student Clayton Pettet (pictured above, with a screen to hide his body), who intends to lose his virginity in public to an audience of 100 people, is keen to explore.
Clayton says he will have gay sex for the first time with a friend as part of a performance project called "Art School Stole My Virginity" at Central Saint Martins art school. And this isn't a spur of the moment decision, either; he's been planning the performance for three years.
"I've held on to my virginity for 19 years and I'm not throwing it away lightly."
He added: "I have decided to use mine and the loss of it to create a piece that I think will stimulate debate."
There has been some controversy over the idea, but Clayton - who has spoken eloquently about the subject on his blog - insists that "some people speak without understanding."
But following controversy over the idea, Mr Pettet posted on his blog that some people were talking about it "without understanding".
"Virginity to me is conceptual and losing it as a performance piece is the way I have chosen to do that. But for a reason I haven’t said the layout of the piece, the location of the piece. Or what is actually going to happen. So for people comparing it to a live sex show, I can assure it will be nothing like that."
Over at the official Tumblr page for the project, Clayton has posted several written and visual pieces to help inspire the right kind of discussion about the piece:
"As a performance piece is the way that I have chosen to lose my virginity. I want to see what it would mean to the people all around me and losing it as a performance piece is the way I have chosen to do that."
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